NPS Southwest Exotic Plant Management Team Grant: Advancing Native Plant Propagation for Ecosystem and Pollinator Health

The National Seed Strategy addresses issues restoring native plant communities on a landscape scale. The goals of the Strategy are to 1) identify seed needs and ensure the reliable availability of genetically appropriate seed, 2) identify research needs and conduct research to provide genetically appropriate seed and to improve technology for native seed production and ecosystem restoration, 3) develop tools that enable managers to make timely, informed seeding decisions for ecological restoration, and 4) develop strategies for internal and external communication.

The National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators takes a comprehensive approach to addressing impacts on pollinator health, including pest and pathogen threats, habitat loss, floral resource limitations, and pesticide exposure. This Strategy lays out current and planned federal actions to achieve several goals including restoring or enhancing seven million acres of land for pollinators over the next five years and increasing the eastern population of monarch butterfly. A critical component of this Strategy is to advance the science underpinning the governmentâ¿¿s land management and regulatory decisions. The Strategy also promotes: 1) research to understand, prevent, and recover from pollinator losses; 2) expansion of public education programs and outreach; 3) increasing and improving pollinator habitat; and 4) developing public-private partnerships across all these activities. The National Seed Strategy overlaps with the Pollinator Strategy in several ways, but most importantly by improving the supply and use of pollinator-friendly seed mixes in land management, restoration, and rehabilitation actions nationwide.

Successful restoration depends on an adequate supply of appropriate native plant materials, improved research, and the engagement of communities and youth in restoration activities. In Arizona and New Mexico, native plant materials are vitally needed for rehabilitating millions of acres of land impacted by wildfire, erosion, development, and invasive species. In addition, native plant materials are in demand for countless public and private restoration projects attempting to improve habitat for wildlife, promote the health of pollinators, and offset exotic species invasions. Planting a diversity of native species not only provides food, shelter and breeding resources for pollinators and other wildlife, it is also critical to building resistance against invasive species and increasing resilience to climate change. The current demand for native seed in the southwest greatly exceeds the supply. The limited native plant materials available on the open market are mostly non-local and genetically and ecologically inappropriate for this region. In Arizona and New Mexico, seed sources for forbs are rare or nonexistent, as are producers prepared to grow these native species for seed production.