THE RIGHT SEED, in THE RIGHT PLACE, at THE RIGHT TIME
This week, the Bureau of Land Management joined research, land management, industry, and restoration professionals dedicated to the collection, development, production, and use of native seed. The 2017 National Native Seed Conference was organized around the goals of the National Seed Strategy , with the aim of getting “The right seed in the right place at the right time.”
Here we share one of the many examples of how the BLM and partners’ involvement in the national Seeds of Success (SOS) program has helped achieve the goals of the National Seed Strategy. SOS is the first step in the process of collecting seed that is vital to conserving the genetic material of native plant communities. Additionally, seed is made available to be grown out by BLM partners to develop seed stocks that can be used in rehabilitation and restoration efforts around the country.
Following the National Seed Strategy’s charge “to expand the collection, conservation, and assessment of native plant genetic resources for use now and into the future,” BLM Colorado has made more than 900 collections from a wide variety of native plant species around the state since 2002. Seed collections such as beardtongues (Penstemon secundiflorus) and milkweeds (Asclepias speciosus) that are important for native pollinators, shrubs like big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) that provide habitat for wildlife such as the Greater Sage-Grouse, or native grasses that can be used to revegetate areas after a fire, have come from all of Colorado’s ecosystems.
Continued and expanded partnerships and research will ensure that appropriate plant materials are around for decades to come in order to improve and restore our nation’s public lands.
Learn more about the Plant Conservation Alliance.
View more photos on Flickr.