REQUEST FOR ENDORSEMENT

The Botanical Sciences and Native Plant Materials Research, Restoration and Promotion Act  -

A bill to improve Federal plant science and conservation programs

 

December 23, 2015

 

Dear Native Plant Society Leader:

 

Conservation of plant species and communities is essential to a secure and sustainable future for the planet and for human societies and economies.  There is a fundamental need for trained specialists to conserve and manage plant species and communities in order to make that future possible. Unfortunately, U.S. Federal plant science and conservation programs are woefully underfunded and understaffed (For details and data, see the Botany Staffing and Funding page on the NPCC website).  In addition, laws and policies to conserve plants are often inadequate or unenforced.  

 

A group of native plant science and conservation organizations has been working for several months to develop proposed Federal legislation to address these problems. This is the “Blue Sky” bill that we discussed during the NPCC conference call in November.

 

We have developed draft legislation to

• increase training, hiring and placement of plant scientists in Federal agencies,
• promote a preference for the use of locally appropriate native plant materials in Federal land management and other activities,
• increase demand for – and therefore supply of - locally appropriate native plant materials, and
• create new Federal programs to conserve rare plants and prevent their listing and extinction.

 

We are now sharing this proposed legislation with like-minded groups in order to gather support for this proposal.  We are also beginning outreach to Congress to identify elected officials who might serve as champions (sponsors) of such a bill.

 

Would your organization be willing to add its name as a supporter of this legislative proposal? 

 

Please find attached the bill draft as well as a short summary of its contents.  Please review these and contact me or Andrea Kramer (akramer@chicagobotanic.org) at the Chicago Botanic Garden with questions or concerns.

 

Please be aware that some of the details in the bill may change as we move forward in the process, in which case all endorsing organizations will be contacted to ensure their continued support of the changes.

 

Currently the following organizations have signed their names to this legislative proposal:

• Institute for Applied Ecology
• Chicago Botanic Garden

 

And it is under consideration by the following:

• Garden Club of America
• American Public Gardens Association
• Botanical Society of America

 

Messages of support should be sent to Andrea Kramer at Chicago Botanic Garden (akramer@chicagobotanic.org), along with a 1-2 sentence summary about your organization and the audience(s) it serves.

 

Please consider whether this approach is something you/your organization can endorse. 

 

Thank you. 

 

Emily Roberson