Research funded by Ioneer has been conducted to investigate a possible relocation of the plants, but results have shown that the buckwheat does not react well to soil from other locations,[13] having evolved for the combination of lithium, boron, and clay in its current habitat.

[4][6] Dan Patterson, a whistleblower from the Bureau of Land Management who previously worked for the Centre for Biological Diversity, accused Ioneer of applying for exploration permits in a manner designed to avoid environmental reviews, which can be time-consuming and costly.

[10] Between July and September 2020, estimates ranging from "a few thousand" (Ioneer Chairman James Calaway, quoted in Sonner, 2020) to as much as 17,000 plants (Center for Biological Diversity, or up to 40% of the population, were damaged or destroyed in a very short period of time.

Others, including the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) and Eriogonum researcher and Assistant Professor Benjamin Grady, PhD, support a theory that systematic, targeted human vandalism was the cause of the losses[15][16].

[6] Subsequent surveys have noted similar damage to storage organs (roots) in nearby desert plants, presumably caused by rodents seeking water in an exceptionally dry year.