[PCA] IN THE NEWS: "Meeting restoration needs with native seeds grown by Nevada farmers" and Seed Forum (March 16-17/virtual)

[Park, Margaret E]

Please see article written by our Nevada partners and their announcement for the annual Nevada Native Seed Forum.

Originally published:  KEVIN BADIK Rangeland Ecologist/The Nature Conservancy in Nevada; Nov. 5, 2020
Reprinted: Elko Daily Free Press (Elko, NV); Sara Cobble/The Nature Conservancy & Rebecca Allured/Nevada Department of Agriculture; Dec 31, 2020

A surprising fact: most native seeds planted in Nevada are not actually grown here. Most seeds come from sources outside the state, in other parts of the West and North America, often from places that differ from Nevada’s unique, dry climate.

 But the Nevada Native Seed Partnership (NNSP) is trying to change that. The coalition of 11 agencies and organizations in Nevada, including The Nature Conservancy and the Nevada Department of Agriculture, has a mission to keep Nevada lands diverse and functioning by using the right seed in the right place at the right time, and a goal of creating an adequate supply of locally adapted native seeds that can meet Nevada’s restoration and rehabilitation needs.

 “Our goals for participating in the partnership are to help growers ensure Nevada will have the right seeds available at the right time to address the needs of restoration, reclamation, and rehabilitation,” Meghan Brown, Plant Industry Deputy Division Administrator for NDA, said. “The NNSP supports the NDA’s mission to protect, preserve and promote Nevada agriculture by providing farmers with opportunities for diversification of production, providing the possibility of successful restoration and rehabilitation after wildfire for livestock operators, and creating important partnerships across the state.”

 Kevin Badik, rangeland ecologist for TNC in Nevada, says there are many ecological benefits of native seeds. By increasing native seed use, more materials are available for restoration, which leads to using less water, helping prevent catastrophic wildfires and providing a new source of income for local growers.

 “Every native seed that successfully establishes is one less opportunity for cheatgrass to come in. It’s one more step in reducing extreme fire behavior,” Badik added. “Using seed that’s locally adapted increases the likelihood that the seed will successfully establish.”

 How it started
Inspired by the National Seed Strategy, which was developed in 2015 by the Plant Conservation Alliance to address widespread shortages of native seed, three federal agencies in northern Nevada (Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Forest Service) began having conversations in early 2016, laying the foundation for what is now the NNSP.

 The partners came together to better understand the roles and abilities of each agency and the opportunities that could be created by working together to increase the availability of native seed in Nevada. Monthly meetings began in fall 2017, and the partnership has now grown to include TNC, NDA, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Nevada Division of Forestry, Nevada Division of Conservation and Natural Resources – Conservation District Program, Nevada Department of Wildlife, University of Nevada, Reno, and Walker Basin Conservancy.

 Why native seeds are important
Healthy native plant communities (sustained by native seeds) not only support humans and wildlife; they are “resilient and resistant to disturbances and are instrumental in combating some of our biggest ecosystem challenges such as drought, wildland fire, and invasive species,” Sarah Kulpa, restoration ecologist and botanist for USFWS, said.

 “We are trying to change how restoration is currently being done in Nevada,” Kulpa said. “This is quite ambitious, but the loss of the sagebrush ecosystem to wildfire and invasive or non-native species is what keeps me up at night. The loss of the sagebrush ecosystem would be devastating to Nevada’s wildlife, people, communities, and economies.”

 The process of increasing native seed availability starts with identifying a source population, such as seeds from wildland collections. Once enough seeds are collected, they are turned over to a farmer or grown in a small greenhouse to increase a bank of starter seeds, then given to another farmer to grow pounds of it in fields for use in restoration projects.

 Attend the virtual forum
Now that the NNSP has a strategy and vision in place, the next steps will be doing more outreach, connecting with communities on the importance of native seeds, and raising awareness of the importance of investing in them in Nevada. This includes participating in the Nevada Native Seed Forum, an annual meeting first hosted by NDA in 2017, that connects growers with other native seed stakeholders.

 After surveying attendees and other stakeholders, the NNSP will host the Nevada Native Seed Forum virtually in short sessions spread out over the course of two days, March 16-17. The forum will focus on sharing the stories of growers, how they go into the native seed business, and began selling. The benefit of a virtual form means Nevada growers will get to hear from producers who have been successfully selling native seed in their states.

 To register to attend, please email your RSVP to Melissa Russell at NDA: m.russell at agri.nv.gov<mailto:m.russell at agri.nv.gov>.

 “We could have all the seed technology we want, but if the seed is not available, it’s doesn’t matter. It’s not just about having seed, it’s about increasing the likelihood that each one will be successful,” Badik said. “We are looking for smarter, more efficient and innovative solutions to our restoration problems. We are exploring different ways we haven’t been thinking about before.”

 There is a demonstrated market for native grown seed in Nevada, and the long-term success of the Nevada Native Seed Strategy depends on continued collaboration between all the partners of the NNSP and Nevada’s growers.

 “In the long term, if we are successful, we will end up with a flourishing native seed market, including Nevada growers increasing plants sourced from Nevada, and managers putting them out on the landscape where they are most likely to establish and persist,” Beth Leger, a biologist with UNR, said. “Establishing plants in the desert is a major challenge, but we have to try.”

Link to online article: https://elkodaily.com/news/state-and-regional/meeting-restoration-needs-with-native-seeds-grown-by-nevada-farmers/article_1560f183-59ea-51b3-8fec-c0a8234c1ba5.html

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