Native Plant Conservation Campaign News: Two progress reports on the historic National Seed Strategy
January 22, 2019
The 2015 Strategy creates a new nationwide network of native seed research, production and storage facilities. The objective of the Strategy is to ensure that locally adapted, genetically appropriate native seed is available for the restoration of lands damaged by fires, storms, or other events and for the rehabilitation of wildland ecosystems degraded by invasive species or mismanagement.
The Strategy recognizes that:
- Locally adapted native plant communities are “climate resilient”: irreplaceable natural defenses against climate change.
- Native plant communities provide critical ecosystem services such as water purification, soil fertility, flood control, and pollinator habitat
- Native plant communities are more resilient to drought, intense fires, invasive species and other threats
The Strategy is groundbreaking. The U.S. is the first nation in the world to develop a local native seed bank network for wildland ecosystem management.
The vision and mission of the Seed Strategy are as follows:
Vision: The right seed in the right place at the right time.
Mission: To ensure the availability of genetically appropriate seed to restore viable and productive plant communities and sustainable ecosystems.
