[MPWG] Summary of the November 2019 PCA General Meeting
De Angelis, Patricia
patricia_deangelis at fws.gov
Thu Dec 12 15:57:11 CST 2019
The meeting was hosted by NatureServe (Arlington, VA) on November 13, 2019
(2-4pm EST).
Introductions were made and Patricia De Angelis/U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (FWS) chaired the meeting on behalf of the Plant Conservation
Alliance Chair, Peggy Olwell/Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
The Plant Conservation Alliance would like to thank Gerry Moore, US
Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service's
National Plant Data Team Lead, for his informative presentation, "An
overview of rare plant protection by states." Links to the PowerPoint and a
recording of the presentation have been added to the PCA Meetings page on
the PCA Cooperator’s website:
https://www.plantconservationalliance.org/meetings
***If you are aware of new or updated state plant laws that are not
reflected in the PLANTS database under the **State T&E*
<https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/threat.html>* information, please email
the information directly to: <**gerry.moore at usda.gov* <gerry.moore at usda.gov>*>.
**Ideally, updates are preferred as Excel or csv files - and the data
sought includes: scientific names, common names, state legal statuses,
state ranks, source (i.e., law citation, program office etc.). Distribution
data can also be included (many states include county distribution data in
their reports). *
*Updates on PCA Activities*
*General PCA Updates*
● *Linking PCA to the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration,
2021-2030: *To build on the interest expressed at our May 2019 PCA meeting
to link the National Seed Strategy** to this global effort, the PCA was
represented at two meetings that will inform the Decade’s collaborations
and activities:
○ The Society for Ecological Restoration, where PCA representation
included:
■ Tom Kaye/Institute for Applied Ecology and PCA Nonfederal Cooperator,
presented: Restoring habitat and hope: The Sagebrush in Prisons Project
■ Kay Havens/Chicago Botanic Garden and Chair of the PCA Nonfederal
Committee, with Leah Prescott and Peggy Olwell presented: Seeds & Stewards
of the Future: A U.S. Collaboration
■ Peggy Olwell/BLM and Chair of the PCA Federal Committee, with others,
presented: Opportunities for success: The future of ecological restoration
on the Colorado Plateau
○ The Global Landscapes Forum:
■ Patricia De Angelis/FWS Liaison to the PCA to distributed copies of
the Strategy and related documents and learned about several US-based
activities that might inform Seed Strategy progress.
*(See additional information on these meetings, below.) *
○ PCA collaborators have also responded to an online survey
<https://www.globallandscapesforum.org/the-decade/ecosystem-and-restoration-decade-expectations/>
being conducted by the UN/FAO leaders of the Decade, highlighting the Seed
Strategy, PCA partnerships, and ecoregional restoration activities across
the US.
***Learn more about the **National Seed Strategy*
<https://www.blm.gov/programs/natural-resources/native-plant-communities/national-seed-strategy>*
or download copies:*
○ *National Seed Strategy for Rehabilitation and Restoration*
<https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/program_natural%20resources_seed%20strategy_quick%20link_seed%20stregy.pdf>*
(2015) [pdf] *
○ *Making Progress*
<https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/uploads/NationalSeedStrategy_MakingProgress_2018.pdf>*
(2018) [pdf] *
● *2020 PCA Speaker Updates: *A planning team++ is developing the 2020
PCA speaker line-up. The 2020 meetings
<https://www.plantconservationalliance.org/meetings> will be on the second
Wednesday of every other month, except the November meeting which is being
pushed back a week because of the federal Veteran's Day holiday. Our 8-Jan
speaker is confirmed and invitations to fill the remaining 2020 dates will
go out this week (11-Mar, 12-May, 8-Jul, 9-Sep, and 18-Nov). Please
contact Patricia_De
Angelis at fws.gov <Angelis at fws.gov> if you have suggestions on these items
still under discussion:
○ Hosting options for physical locations for the 2020 meetings (has
alternated between MIB, NatureServe, and the Smithsonian).
○ A single platform for the remote host who could also provide tech
support, perhaps as an in-kind contribution to the PCA collaboration.
○ Suggestions for additional speakers.
*++**The team includes Patricia De Angelis/Fish & Wildlife Service, Anne
Frances/NatureServe, Krissa Skogen & Leah Prescott/Chicago Botanic Garden,
Gary Krupnick/Smithsonian Institution, and Ray Mims/U.S. Botanic Garden.*
● *PCA Submission to the North American Congress for Conservation
Biology (2020): *Several PCA collaborators submitted a proposal for a
session about the Plant Conservation Alliance. Decisions on accepted
speakers will be made by early winter 2019. The conference will be held in
Denver, Colorado, on July 28-30, 2020, with associated short courses,
workshops, and events occurring on July 26, 27, & 31.
● *Continued discussion on the need for a National Botany Directory:*
The idea for an updated directory of plant conservation contacts was raised
at the September 11 PCA meeting. The last known US-wide publication “Plant
Conservation Directory” (published by the Center for Plant Conservation
(CPC)), which included state-by-state contact info for state, federal,
tribal, and nonfederal people involved in plant conservation. The BLM also
funding supported that publication. The CPC has since confirmed that they
keep updated information only on their program partners, available on their
website <https://saveplants.org/conservation-directory/>.
*Federal Committee Updates*
● *Progress on the renewal of the PCA Federal Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU):* The FWS is leading efforts to renew the MOU among the
federal committee; this renewal marks 25 consecutive years of interagency
collaboration and partnership focused on mutual priority conservation needs
for native plants and their habitats.
○ *As of September 26, the MOU was officially renewed and became
effective, having been signed by the Smithsonian Institution and the
National Park Service. *
○ *The USGS, Department of Defense, U.S. Botanic Garden, the FWS and
NRCS reported being in various stages of the approval process. *
○ *There is no update as to a potential signing ceremony. *
○ *The FWS will work with the PCA Federal Committee Chair to discuss
posting the renewed MOU to the **federal PCA webpage*
<https://www.blm.gov/programs/natural-resources/native-plant-communities/national-seed-strategy/pca>*.
*
*Nonfederal Committee Updates: *
● *Collaborative Plant Conservation session at the 2019 Natural Areas
Association Conference *(Oct. 7-10, 2019; Pittsburgh, PA)*: *Kristi
Allen/PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, who coordinates
the Pennsylvania Plant Conservation Network, moderated a symposium
highlighting state-based plant conservation alliances in Kentucky,
Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina, as well as the California
Native Plant Conservation Initiative! Several PCA members agencies also
attended the meeting, including BLM, USFS, and NPS. Another session on
Native Plant Conservation Initiatives included presentations from the
Arkansas Native Seed Program and Maine's Wild Seed Project.
○ *See the 2019 NAA*
<https://www.naturalareas.org/docs/NAC19_program-LowRes.pdf>*Program*
<https://www.naturalareas.org/docs/NAC19_program-LowRes.pdf>* and*
<https://www.memberleap.com/members/publication/program_issue.php?iid=519029>
*Abstracts*
<https://www.memberleap.com/members/publication/program_issue.php?iid=519029>*
for more details. For more info, contact Kristi at: 717.783.332 or
c-Krallen at pa.gov <c-Krallen at pa.gov>*
● *Cooperators Update: *At present, there are 380 nonfederal PCA
Cooperators from nearly every U.S. State and the District of Columbia.^^
International Cooperators include neighbors in Mexico and Canada, as well
as folks across the pond in the United Kingdom and India!
○ *See the full list of PCA Cooperators
<https://www.plantconservationalliance.org/cooperators> *
○ *Become a PCA Cooperator
<https://www.plantconservationalliance.org/join-us> *
*^^West Virginia and North Dakota are the only two U.S. states without
self-ascribed PCA Cooperators.*
*Native Plants Roundtable*
*Recent Meetings and Conferences attended by PCA collaborators*
● 8th World Conference on Ecological Restoration <https://ser2019.org/>
(Society for Ecological Restoration; September 24–28, 2019; Cape Town,
South Africa)
○ *See Abstracts
<http://ser2019.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/SER2019-Book-Of-Abstracts.pdf>
*
○ *All plenary sessions were filmed and should soon be made available
on the SER Restoration Resource Center (RRC) <https://www.ser-rrc.org/> *
website*. *
○ *SER is in the process of organizing and then uploading audio
recordings of all conference presentations, paired with the accompanying
PowerPoint.*
● Global Landscape Forum
<https://events.globallandscapesforum.org/new-york-2019/> (United Nations;
Sept. 28, 2019; U.N. Headquarters-NY)
○ *The agenda
<https://events.globallandscapesforum.org/new-york-2019/agenda/> links to
information about the presenter which then links to a video: *
● Second public meeting for the National Assessment of Native Seed
Needs and Capacities <http://www.nas.edu/seedneeds> (The National Academies
of Sciences; October 10, 2019; Deschutes National Forest Administration
Headquarters; Bend, OR).
○ *Presentations were recorded and saved online, www.nas.edu/seedneeds
<http://www.nas.edu/seedneeds>*
● 2019 Conference on Landscape Architecture
<https://www.asla.org/conference.aspx> (American Society for Landscape
Architecture; November 14-18; San Diego, CA)
○ *The BLM Plant Conservation & Restoration Program hosted a booth
with native plant informational resources, gave a Professional Practice
Network presentation on Native Seed for Restoration, and provided
information on the National Academies of Sciences Native Seed Assessment.*
● IUCN SSC Leader’s meeting 2019
<https://www.iucn.org/species/about/species-survival-commission/ssc-leadership-and-steering-committee/ssc-leaders-meeting-2019>
(International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)-Species Survival
Commission (SSC); October 6-9, 2019; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates)
○ *Anne Frances, NatureServe, attended as the North American Red List
Authority Co-Chair.*
○ *IUCN Red List plans to list more plants, especially plants with
data from NatureServe*
○ *Please contact Anne (anne_frances at natureserve.org
<anne_frances at natureserve.org>) if you’re interested in contributing*
● 2019 North American Pollinator Protection Campaign Conference
<https://www.pollinator.org/nappc/2019> (October 22-24, 2019; Department of
Interior; Washington, DC)
○ *Public sessions are available online at pollinator.org
<http://pollinator.org>*
○ *Some recorded talks cover the Insect Apocalypse, The Wildlife
Habitat Council, Bat Conservation International*
○ *Task Forces were formed*
■ *Selecting Native Plants for Pollinators plans to create “recipe
cards” for homeowners on where to buy native plants and seeds and how to
arrange them in gardens *
*Announcements*
● A workshop to assess the conservation status of North American
Trillium species was held at Mt. Cuba Center, Delaware, in October 2019.
The workshop was co-led by NatureServe, the ABQ BioPark, and Mt. Cuba
Center. Results from the workshop include updated taxonomy for the genus,
updated Global Ranks for all recognized species and subspecies, and
published Red List Assessments for all species. Results will be presented
in upcoming conferences including SeppCon and the Botanical Society of
America. A booklet will also be produced.
● The Center for Plant Conservation has a new Director, Joyce
Maschincki, Ph.D.! Learn more
<https://saveplants.org/about-us/meet-our-team/>
● Native Plant Database Integration Project - now known as PlantAgents:
About 1.5 years ago, a group of landscapers and gardeners began a project
to help people make ecologically-appropriate plant choices that will
benefit wildlife while promoting healthy, biodiverse, resilient landscapes.
The November 14, 2018, PCA meeting informed this effort by welcoming Doug
Tallamy, Mary Phillips, John Rowden, and Judy Venonsky as panelists to
present “Identifying and addressing information gaps in plant databases to
support emerging planting design technologies promoting biodiversity and
ecological benefits.”@@ There are plans for a pilot field trial in a local
setting in Birmingham, Alabama, and they are formalizing their structure
and teams, as they move the concept forward to developing the actual tools
(e.g., a database, an app, etc.).
*@@**See the Nov. 2018 presentation mentioned above on the PCA Meetings
page <https://www.plantconservationalliance.org/meetings> *
● FWS provided the following native plant updates:
○ *The Nevada Seed Strategy (a stepped-down version of the National
Strategy) being developed by the Nevada Native Seed Partnership (NNSP) is
near completion and will be presented for management review in early
December.*
■ *The NNSP includes Federal (BLM, FWS, USFS, NRCS-PMC), State (NDA,
NDOW, NDF, and Nevada Conservation Districts), and non-governmental
partners (The Nature Conservancy, Great Basin Institute, UNR, Walker Basin
Conservancy, Reno-Sparks Indian Colony).*
○ *FWS has two SOS## increases are underway in fields at Stone Nursery
(USFS) for bluebunch wheatgrass and Sanderg's bluegrass. *
*##**SOS: Refers to Seeds of Success collections and grow-outs in
collaboration with the BLM and following their SOS protocol. Learn more
about SOS
<https://www.blm.gov/programs/natural-resources/native-plant-communities/native-plant-and-seed-material-development/collection>
*
○ *FWS-Ecological Services proposed in October to remove Howellia
aquatilis (Water Howellia) from the ESA list; in early October, made not
warranted findings to list the following plants: Florida clamshell orchid,
Ocala vetch, Yellow anise tree, and Yellow-cedar; and on November 5,
published a final rule to remove Oenothera coloradensis (Colorado Butterfly
Plant) from the ESA list, effective December 5, 2019.*
○ *Miami University in collaboration with FWS announced a graduate
assistantship to study the genetics of the ESA-threatened Florida skullcap
(Scutellaria floridana). Applications are due January 1. Details were
shared on the Medicinal Plant Working Group listserv (see the list archives
for November). For more information, contact Dr. Negron-Ortiz (FWS; *
*vivian_negronortiz at fws.gov* <vivian_negronortiz at fws.gov>*) or Richard
Moore (Miami U; **Moorerc at maimich.edu* <Moorerc at maimich.edu>*).*
*Upcoming Events*
● SEPPCON 2020: The Southeastern Partners in Plant Conservation
Conference (March 2-6, 2020; Atlanta Botanic Garden; Atlanta, GA). See
these links for details
<https://atlantabg.org/conservation-research/outreach-education-and-training/southeastern-partners-in-plant-conservation/southeastern-partners-in-plant-conservation-conference/>
and to sign up to receive updates
<https://atlantabg.org/conservation-research/outreach-education-and-training/southeastern-partners-in-plant-conservation/southeastern-partners-in-plant-conservation-conference/sign-up-to-receive-seppcon-2020-email-notifications/>
on the meeting.
● Natureserve’s Biodiversity without Boundaries (April 19-22, 2020;
Richmond Marriott; Richmond, VA): These conferences are now held every 2
years, with regional conferences hosted in intervening. See details
<https://www.natureserve.org/connect/events/biodiversity-without-boundaries-2020>.
● Earth Optimism Forum (April 23-25, 2020; Ronald Reagan Building and
International Trade Center; Washington, D.C.). Check here for more info Center
for Plant Conservation National meeting (May 7-9, 2020; Denver Botanic
Garden; Denver, CO). Registration opens in February. See details
<https://saveplants.org/events/> and sign up for the CPC newsletter
<http://centerforplantconservation.us12.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=5111078c47821caea413b21ca&id=601d443b31>
to get updates prior to the meeting.
● Smithsonian Botanical Symposium (May 15, 2020; National Museum of
Natural History; Washington, D.C.)
*Share your information!* We encourage PCA cooperators to post meetings,
webinars, and research on the PCA listserve as we continue our
collaborative mission to protect native plants by ensuring that native
plant populations and their communities are maintained, enhanced, and
restored.
*PCA has several listserves focused on different aspects of native plants –
learn more and subscribe here <https://pca.sites.usa.gov/get-involved/>. *
***The next Plant Conservation Alliance meeting will be held on Wednesday
January 8, 2020, 2:00 - 4:00 pm ET, with guest speaker Kirk Davies,
Rangeland Scientist, USDA-ARS, Range and Meadow Forage Management
Research.***
*The speaker will be remote but the meeting will be hosted at the Main
Interior Building (Washington*, DC) - if you *plan to attend in person,
please RSVP to Michelle_Turton at fws.gov <Michelle_Turton at fws.gov> by January
3, 2020. Further details on the PCA Meetings
<https://www.plantconservationalliance.org/meetings> page.*
*Thank you!*
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