An Assessment of Native Seed Needs and the Capacity for Their Supply Final Report (2023) / Chapter Skim
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3 Native Seed Needs and the Federal Government
3 Native Seed Needs and the Federal Government
Pages 29-42
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From page 29... ...
Most of the seed purchased by BLM is through Consolidated Seed Buys which typically take place three or four times a year.1 The procurement process begins with the development of a list of seed types and amounts requested from the field offices, which is then put out for public bid. The winning bids are paid from a Working 1 Text was modified after the prepublication was released to correct number of BLM offices with seeding projects and the number of Consolidated Seed Buys annually.
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From page 30... ...
Because the number and severity of wildland fires vary from year to year, the total annual seed purchases from the Consolidated Seed Buys fluctuates annually, for example, from a high of 7.5 million pounds in 2007 to a low of approximately 300,000 pounds in 2009. BLM estimates that on average, 2.4 million pounds of pure TABLE 3-2 Wildfires in Western United States in 2020 (number and acres across all jurisdictions, and the acres under BLM management)
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From page 31... ...
. Seed Transfer Zones and Source-Identified Seed BLM does not have an agency-wide requirement that seed purchased by the field offices be native plant seed, although its Best Management Practices call for the use native seed of known origin when available (BLM, 2008)
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From page 32... ...
In a presentation to the committee, Anne Halford, BLM Botanist in Idaho, emphasized the different ways in which plant conservation and restoration activities contribute to revenue generation for the Department of the Interior and BLM, from the $23 million in recreation fees in 2017 that brought visitors to witness the "super bloom" of native wildflowers, to supporting the preferred native habitat for fish and game species on which $348 million is spent annually, and the increased productivity of rangeland on which ranchers in the West rely. An important consideration related to the current biodiversity crisis is the ecosystem value of native plant communities as food and shelter for the iconic sage-grouse or other rare species.
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From page 33... ...
In 2020, the USFS Pacific Northwest Region 6, home to 17 National Forests across Oregon and Washington, experienced the worst fire season in a century. According to a Rapid Assessment Team10 report evaluating the Slater Fire in the Rogue River-Siskiyou 9 See https://iogcc.ok.gov/sites/g/files/gmc836/f/documents/2022/iogcc_idle_and_orphan_wells_2021_final_web_0.pdf (accessed February 9, 2023)
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From page 34... ...
Herbert Stone Nursery. Because many more trees and other native plants will be needed, production and other activities will need to be scaled up to engage many more public and private nurseries and growers.13 In a presentation to the committee, Erickson said Region 6 uses a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA)
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From page 35... ...
to commercial suppliers in Colorado, which are now able to grow these grass species in large quantities to sell to private landowners and to land-management agencies. The USFS has an institutional policy directing the National Forests to cooperate in developing and using native plants.
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From page 36... ...
The Service is adopting a Resist-Accept-Transition framework to help it chart a management course, that among other decisions, will affect its habitat restoration and TES decisions, both with implications for native plant seed and materials. USFWS Partnerships in Support of Native Seed The total amount of seed and plant materials procured across all the National Wildlife Refuges used for BAR projects or other, non-fire-related restoration projects is unknown, in part because the activities are widely distributed.
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From page 37... ...
In addition, in the past, National Parks have relied on the Natural Resources Conservation Service's Plant Materials Centers (PMCs) for small increases of seed collected from the parks, and for their ability to help growers produce native plants.
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From page 38... ...
The USFWS, National Parks, and military bases are focused on activities related to ecological restoration, are generally oriented toward the use of genetically appropriate native seed, and pursue their needs on a project-by-project basis. These agencies appear to have the leeway to seek native seed proactively, or at least to have a longer planning horizon for obtaining the specific native seeds needed for their projects.
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From page 39... ...
Pollinator habitat projects Stream erosion mitigation or restoration Restorative activity on land in a wilderness or natural area Soil protection Invasive species suppression Roadside seeding Landscaping Green infrastructure Roadside maintenance Natural disaster recovery Rangeland grazing Energy development remediation Green strips (vegetative fuel breaks) The Committee used a series of semi-structured interviews of personnel from the five major federal agencies that make direct seed purchases.
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From page 40... ...
Topics that arose during various interviews with agency personnel, and some of their observations, can be summarized as follows: • The populations of native plant communities on land under agency control are important as a supply of seeds for future restoration needs. • There appears to be a lack of interest by some decision makers in the agencies to pursue ecological restoration relative to other priorities.
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From page 41... ...
If this challenge is to be met, the agencies will need to move quickly toward an expanded, proactive effort to develop a supply of native seeds for emergency stabilization and long-term ecological restoration. Conclusion 3-3: Existing native plant communities on public lands that are managed for multiple uses are an essential resource for developing a native seed supply, but those plant communities are at risk, and their conservation has not been a priority relative to other uses.
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From page 42... ...
2019. Climate Adaptation for DoD Natural Resource Managers: A Guide to Incorporating Climate Considerations into Integrated Natural Resource Management Plans.
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