<br><font size=3 face="Arial">There is a LOT more to this issue than simply
deciding to purchase natives. There are many unanswered questions,
some of which will be important to iron out before making rash changes.
</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">Members of the Plant Conservation Alliance
(PCA; federal agencies, including BLM and Forest Service, and nonfederal
cooperators) are working collaboratively toward addressing many of these
questions (see: the Plant Conservation Alliance website, <www.nps.gov/plants/>)...but
it won't be done in a day. </font>
<br>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial"><b>What drives the demand?</b></font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">The demand for seeds is "fueled"
by forest fires on BLM and Forest Service lands. A total of 96,385
fires and 9,873,429 acres burned were reported. This season was 125 percent
above the 10-year average" (Other information can be found at: http://www.nifc.gov/stats/index.html).</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">Large number of fires in the 90s led to enormous
demands for material for revegetation. In 2002, Congress recognized
that in order "to ensure a stable and economical supply of native
plant materials for rehabilitation and restoration needs, agencies need
to implement measures that facilitate the development of a long-term program
to supply and manage native plant materials for use on public lands"
(Interagency Program to Supply and Manage Native Plant Materials for Restoration
and Rehabilitation on Federal Lands, Report to Congress, 2002, (http://www.nps.gov/plants/npmd/reporttocongress.htm)).
</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">In response to Congress’ request to develop
this program, the BLM has established the Plant Conservation Program, within
the Division of Fish, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, with Peggy Olwell
as Program Lead. Peggy is also the Chair of the Federal Committee
of the PCA and is working very closely with many agencies to develop these
new materials. With shrinking federal budgets, agencies recognize
the need to make the best of use of limited funds.</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial"><b>There are a lot of things we just don't
know yet...</b></font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">Which species are appropriate and where?</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">How do we grow these species? </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">How do we harvest them?</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">How do we sow them?</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">Which species will do the work? </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">What's the best way of getting those seeds/plants
out there? </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">How can the agencies obtain what they need
in the quantities needed? </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">Who will grow these species for the land
management agencies? </font>
<br>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial"><b>Perhaps the biggest problem?</b></font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">Many native species are not commercially
available (http://www.nps.gov/plants/meetings/bimonthly/mar2007/erickson/index.htm).
Developing these materials equates to developing a new crop, and
that can take 10-20 years. </font>
<br>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial"><b>Working with the private sector to develop
the materials:</b></font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">The Plant Conservation Alliance is working
with the private sector on many fronts. They recently met with the
seed growing industry to gauge successes as well as areas for improvement
in the quest to increase the use of native plants. See summary from
the PCA-American Seed Trade Association Meeting in March 2007 (http://www.nps.gov/plants/meetings/bimonthly/mar2007/index.htm).</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial"><b>Meanwhile, the fires rage on. </b></font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">And soils need to be stabilized. While
the preference is for natives, the reality is, we don't have what we need
yet. So, agencies must make do with species that are known "workhorses"
- that will do the job of stabilizing the soil until the native vegetation
can move back in. Let's remember that not all exotics are invasive.
The BLM sets high standards for the seed that they purchase to be
weed-free with 3rd party verification (See: http://www.nps.gov/plants/meetings/bimonthly/nov2005/index.htm).
They are also experimenting with revegetation projects that make
the best use of scarce native seed resources (see: http://www.nps.gov/plants/meetings/bimonthly/mar2007/erickson/index.htm).
</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial"><b>The fact that more than 50%of the seeds
purchased in 2005 were native is something to celebrate.</b></font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">Land management agencies are large, with
many different layers, and not always consistent when it comes to things
like determining what seed are used. As Scott Lambert points out,
BLM didn't start seriously shifting toward native plants until the mid-90s.
So, to hit the 50% mark in a decade is HUGE. Moreover, the
following graphs demonstrate the downward trend of non-native seed purchases
versus native seed in the BLM consolidated seed buy (http://www.nps.gov/plants/meetings/bimonthly/nov2005/pages/2005_Scott_Lambert_Page_10_jpg.htm).</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial"><b>And it's not just BLM and FS that are
using and developing natives.</b></font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">The Refuge system, managed by the U.S Fish
and Wildlife Service, has worked through the above scenario on a smaller
scale - to restore the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge in Prairie City,
Iowa, for instance (http://www.tallgrass.org/prairie.html). A lot
of research has gone into this effort (see: http://www.tallgrass.org/Bio2004.html).
Among their accomplishments is the development of a burgeoning native
plant industry that was borne out of the Refuge's need for plant material
and a few nurseries and growers that were willing to take the challenge.</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">The National Park Service has been working
cooperatively with NRCS (natural Resources Conservation Service) for over
twenty years on this very issue. The Department of Defense, the Department
of Transportation, the Environmental Protection Agency - many agencies
are focusing more and more on natives. Until recently, we really
didn't pay too much attention to native versus non-native work was going
on. Take a closer look and you'll see that there is a lot more native
plant work going on than it seems. Is there still work to be done
- oh YES! But, Rome wasn't built in a day.</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">-Patricia</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">Patricia S. De Angelis, Ph.D.</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">Botanist - Division of Scientific Authority</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">Chair - Plant Conservation Alliance - Medicinal
Plant Working Group</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">US Fish & Wildlife Service</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Suite 750</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">Arlington, VA 22203</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">703-358-1708 x1753</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">FAX: 703-358-2276</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">Working for the conservation and sustainable
use of our green natural resources.</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial"><www.nps.gov/plants/medicinal></font>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
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<td><font size=3 face="Arial"><b>Craig Dremann <craig@astreet.com></b>
</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">Sent by: apwg-bounces@lists.plantconservation.org</font>
<p><font size=3 face="Arial">05/16/2007 01:32 PM</font>
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<br><font size=3 face="Arial">To</font></div>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">apwg@lists.plantconservation.org, native-plants@lists.plantconservation.org</font>
<div align=right>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">cc</font></div>
<br>
<div align=right>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">Subject</font></div>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">[APWG] BLM buys > ONE MILLION lbs. exotics/year?
- EXOTIC-FREE by 2011??</font>
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<br><font size=3 face="Arial">Dear All,</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">I've found a 2005 report on the web, by Scott
Lambert and Peggy Olwell</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">from 2005, a Powerpoint presentation entitled
"Seed use by the BLM" that</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">is cached as a text document by Google at</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:5FZbyrYML6MJ:ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/PMC/Conferences/WestPM-Mar2006/ScottLambertBLM-SeedUse.ppt+crested+RSW+BLM&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us&ie=UTF-8</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">According to this 2005 slide show, the 10-year
average for BLM's seed</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">buys was 2.2 million pounds, with a high
of 6.6 million pounds in 1999</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">and the 2005 purchases were 3.6 million pounds.
</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">The very unfortunate part of the story, is
that 41% of those seeds</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">purchased in 2005 were exotics, or 1,476,000
pounds, with their weed</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">seeds and other crop seeds. At 1% weed
or other crop, means that about</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">14,000 pounds of weed seeds were purchased
along with those exotic</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">seeds.</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">The exotic seeds annually purchased by BLM,
list hasn't changed much</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">over time: Crested wheatgrass, Russian ryegrass,
Siberian wheatgrass,</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">Small Burnet, Sainfoin, Alfalfa, with minor
amounts of Pubescent</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">wheatgrass, and Yellow sweet clover.</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">I CANNOT UNDERSTAND at all, the disconnect
between the professional</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">BOTANISTS and professional ECOLOGISTS that
BLM has on staff, and the</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">purchase of over a million pounds of exotic
seeds, to sow back onto our</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">public lands? It doesn't make any scientific
or ecological sense?</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">Maybe a spokeperson from BLM can enlighten
us, why all these millions of</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">pounds of exotic seeds were purchased by
the agency, when it is known</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">that these exotics are damaging to the native
ecosystems they were sown</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">into?</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">Shouldn't BLM start winding down the purchase
of exotic seeds, say by</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">33% a year for the next three years, or a
decrease of about 1/2 million</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">pounds a year, to purchase ZERO EXOTIC SEEDS
by 2011?</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">SIncerely, Craig Dremann, Redwood City,
CA (650) 325-7333</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">_______________________________________________</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">PCA's Alien Plant Working Group mailing list</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">APWG@lists.plantconservation.org</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">http://lists.plantconservation.org/mailman/listinfo/apwg_lists.plantconservation.org</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">Disclaimer
</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">Any requests, advice or opinions posted to
this list reflect ONLY the opinion of the individual posting the message.</font>
<br>
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