***Native Plant Conservation Campaign News***
August 19, 2015
The Department of the Interior National Seed Strategy – emphasizing local natives! - was widely covered in the media, e.g.
Los Angeles Times, Tuesday August 18, and other news sources (see below)
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What grows after natural disasters? U.S. plants new idea to restore landscapes
By JOHN M. GLIONNAcontact the reporter
Peggy Olwell has seen her share of forest fires, hurricanes and other natural disasters. She knows all too well what errant Mother Nature can do.
The career botanist has watched Western wildfires scorch the earth and scary-high winds wipe coastal landscapes clean. She also has seen what happens to native plants.
And when it's time to replant, there are rarely enough native seeds on hand. Conservationists introduce nonnative species in hopes of jump-starting damaged ecosystems.
"These are complex systems that differ region to region," said Olwell, plant conservation program manager for the federal Bureau of Land Management. "You can't interchange parts of it and think it's going to function the same way."
On Monday, the U.S. government is announcing a new approach to ecosystem maintenance. The National Seed Strategy for Rehabilitation and Restoration brings together a dozen federal agencies to restore landscapes altered by natural disasters, human development, even global warming, by creating regional seed banks.
Steve Ellis, the BLM's deputy director of operations, will introduce the plan in Boise, Idaho. The site was chosen because of the nearby Soda fire, which had charred 284,000 acres as of Sunday — burned ground that soon will require replanting.
"Success on a national scale will be achieved through a network of native seed collectors, a network of farmers and growers working to develop seed, a network of nurseries and seed storage facilities to supply adequate quantities of appropriate seeds, and a network of restoration ecologists who know how to put the right seed in the right place at the right time," the BLM said in a news release.
The goal is to replant as soon as possible with the right species.
"We need to get past scrambling to do this only after a big fire or disaster — that's a reactionary position," said Mike Tupper, a BLM deputy assistant director for resources and planning. The agency hopes states, Native American tribes and nongovernmental organizations will join the effort.
"The piece now missing is a close coordination with private industry," Tupper said. "If we can tell the entire seed-growing industry where we're going, we can work together. They'll have the seeds grown and ready when we need them."
The enhanced federal program comes at a tense time, with some Western states accusing Washington of overbearing land management. The BLM and other agencies have reached out to governors and other officials in an effort to get them to support the plant effort.
"There's a certain segment of society that wants less government, and for them, anything we do is going to be seen as that — more big-government intervention," Tupper said. "But our job is to continue doing what we think is best for the American public. This is one of those programs."
Officials cited the staggering damage wildfires inflict. In 2014, 63,000 U.S. wildfires burned 3.6 million acres of land, an average of 57 acres per fire.
Replanting native seeds may be subtle but it's crucial to the continued health of any ecosystem, Olwell said.
"Most Americans are plant blind," she said. "They see plants as a backdrop; still, they're upset if they go away. They're not recreating in parking lots of America. They want that beauty, but they don't really understand the nuance of native plant communities."
An introduced plant species might look pretty but won't necessarily be eaten by local wildlife, she said. Invasive cheat grass, which grows on many burn sites, is considered a prime fire starter — planting the seeds for another conflagration.
Plants give us a sense of place, Olwell said — the saguaro cactus in the Southwest, sagebrush across the Western prairie, maple trees in New England, redwoods along the California coast.
"Science shows that local is best," she said. "If it evolved there, we know it does best there."
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Other coverage included the following:
(thanks to the Olivia Kwong and the Plant Conservation Alliance for compiling this information!)
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http://www.idahostatesman.com/2015/08/17/3942659_agencies-already-working-on-rehabilitation.html?rh=1
Agencies already working on rehabilitation of Soda Fire’s burned landscape
Idaho Statesman // Rocky Barker // August 17, 2015
The wind-whipped Soda Fire burned through the lives and businesses of ranch families in Owyhee County as it crossed 200,000 acres of sage-grouse habitat. Volunteers and neighbors are reaching out to help those who lost livestock and grazing land in the short term. Even before the smoke has cleared, federal officials are looking at longer-term assistance. “A good deal of this help will come in the form of restoration,” said Steve Ellis, Bureau of Land Management deputy director. “Having the right seed in the right place at the right time makes a major difference,” Ellis said. The shortage of seeds has been identified as a major issue by the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife, which will decide in September whether sage grouse listing as an endangered species is not warranted because of the collective actions of the federal government, 11 states and private interests. The strategy outlines focused research, improvements in seed production and new restoration technology to increase genetically appropriate, locally adapted seed.
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Interior Department sets seed strategy to restore damaged land
Agri-Pulse // August 17, 2015
The Interior Department released a National Seed Strategy to restore wildlife landscapes, especially for land damaged by rangeland fires, as well as invasive species, severe storms and drought. The strategy, developed in partnership with the Plant Conservation Alliance and USDA, emphasizes the importance of planting appropriate seeds to help grow plant life and pollinator habitat. “Having the right seed in the right place at the right time makes a major difference in the health of our landscapes,” said Interior Secretary Sally Jewell. “This is a collaborative effort to ensure that we're taking a landscape level approach to supporting lands that are more resilient to drought, intense fires and invasive species.” American Seed Trade Association Chair Risa DeMasi said the strategy is focused on research in identifying appropriate, regionally adapted species, and developing protocols “that can successfully restore the thousands of acres of land impacted by wildfires,” particularly in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and California.
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http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/aug/17/new-national-seed-strategy-aims-make-burned-lands-/
New national seed strategy aims to make burned lands more resilient
Spokesman Review // Betsy Z Russell // August 17, 2015
Even as fires ravage landscapes across the west, restoration crews already are on the ground amid the smoke, starting work on plans to reseed and rehabilitate the burned wildlands. “There’s an urgent need,” said Tim Murphy, Idaho state director of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. That need has prompted an array of federal and state agencies to partner with hundreds of groups, from commercial seed producers to garden clubs, research universities to ranchers, to launch a new “National Seed Strategy for Rehabilitation and Restoration” today, aimed at not only restoring burned landscapes across the west, but making them more resilient before the next fire hits.
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http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2015/08/17/stories/1060023551
Agencies finalize strategy to source seed for rehab projects
E&E // Tiffany Stecker // August 17, 2015
An alliance of federal agencies, seed companies and organizations are rolling out a five-year plan to better source seeds to rehabilitate lands ravages by wildfire, floods and other natural disasters. In an event in Boise, Idaho, today, the Plant Conservation Alliance, led by the Bureau of Land Management, announced a plan to mobilize the public, private and nonprofit sectors to ensure a steady supply of conservation seed, an increasingly important commodity to protect natural vegetation and provide habitat for imperiled species like the sage grouse and pollinators. "Large, disturbed areas must be replanted quickly to avoid severe erosion or colonization by nonnative invasive plants," said BLM Deputy Director Steve Ellis in prepared remarks. "In many cases, it has been difficult to obtain and deliver adequate quantities of the appropriate seed to meet a region's particular need."
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Feds plan to gather tons of seeds from native plants to protect land after natural disasters
AP // Keith Ridler // August 17, 2015
Federal authorities announced a plan Monday to produce massive quantities of seeds from native plants so they can be quickly planted to help the land recover from natural disasters such as wildfires and hurricanes. The program will make landscapes more resilient and healthier, especially Western rangelands where massive wildfires have been an increasing problem, the U.S. Department of the Interior said. Officials hope to create a national network of seed collectors, growers and storage facilities so that enough native seeds will be available immediately after disasters to avoid erosion and prevent invasive species from moving in.
Also carried in SF Chronicle, ABC, Seattle PI, Houston Chronicle, AJC, CT Post, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Idaho Statesman, My San Antonio, Washington Post, Seattle Times, Yahoo News, US News, WSB-TV
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