FILE – In this photo provided by the Center for Biological Diversity, Tiehm’s buckwheat grows in the high desert in the Silver Peak Range of western Nevada about halfway between Reno and Las Vegas, in June 2019, where a lithium mine is planned. The U.S. Department of Energy on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, announced a conditional loan of $700 million to an Australian mining company to pursue a proposed lithium project in Nevada. But the project still faces a significant hurdle in developing a mining operations plan that will provide adequate protection for the endangered Nevada wildflower, Tiehm’s buckwheat. (Patrick Donnelly/Center for Biological Diversity via AP, File)