BLM-Alaska, Seeds of Success and Ecological Sites

BLM Alaska manages federal land under a multiple use mandate. The plant conservation, botany, and wildlife programs often have additional funding available to complete conservation and land management projects. These projects include and are not limited to plant material development, ecosystem monitoring, and wildlife conservation. These projects promote the enjoyment, understanding, and conservation of plants and wildlife and the natural world. Especially since there is an urgent need for plant conservation as the International Unit for Conservation of Nature (IUCN): World Conservation Union estimates that 40 percent of US flora is at risk of extinction by 2050. In 2016 The National Seed Strategy was released. The strategy addresses issues restoring native plant communities on a landscape scale. Land managers must often replant large acreages quickly to avoid severe erosion or colonization by nonnative invasive plants. Adding to the challenges are the expense and difficulty of obtaining and delivering adequate quantities of appropriate seed to meet the need, which is often difficult to predict. This seed must be available for use at the right time and in the right place. The goals of the Strategy are: 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.