[SOS-PCA] July SOS Collector Call Notes

[Hill, Sarah E]

Hello SOS teams and mentors,


Its July and that means things are really heating up in the seed collection world! Over 60 teams partnering with three federal agencies are actively scouting, collecting, and shipping seeds all around the country, and we are so grateful for all the care and attention that folks are putting into their efforts. Below you will find a summary of our announcements and discussions during the collector call. My apologies for the internet connectivity issues that occurred, we will review tips for data QC on the next collector call in August. In the mean time, make sure you are checking the help documents folder in the geoplatform groups if you need a little support, and then feel free to reach out to Kristy or myself to help with further troubleshooting.


Thanks again and ciao for now,

Sarah Hill




National Office Announcements, Sarah Hill shill at blm.gov

  *   Native Seed Supply Chain Series is live! The latest episode about native seed collection dropped today, July 13. Share this with you families, friends, and anyone else who has ever said "oh? what do you mean?" when you explain what you do for a living!

     *   “Native Seeds: Supplying Restoration,” a nine-part video series about the native seed supply chain in the Western United States. Episodes will be posted weekly starting today at ser-insr.org/native-seed-film<https://ser-insr.org/native-seed-film>. The summer series will culminate in the release of a feature-length film version on August 24. Filmed over four seasons, this documentary series explores the people working to scale up the supply of native seeds to meet the growing restoration demand, weaving together footage with seed collectors, farmers, researchers, and land managers across the Western United States. The film shows the extensive scale of damage to vast landscapes and introduces the tenacious people who are finding creative, scrappy solutions to restore ecosystems. It is an informative piece of outreach that was funded through a BLM assistance agreement with the Society for Ecological Restoration - International Network for Seed-based Restoration (SER-INSR).

SER-INSR is also hosting a webinar on August 31st about the series with the filmmakers and some of those interviewed in the film. SER-INSR Press Release<https://www.ser.org/news/643829/Documentary-series-explores-urgent-efforts-to-grow-the-native-seed-supply-chain-in-the-western-US.htm?utm_source=Society+for+Ecological+Restoration&utm_campaign=c9e8527e63-MAILCHIMP_CAMPAIGN_22_06_2023&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0a78256df0-c9e8527e63-212404918>

Follow on the SER-INSR Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram (@seeds4restoration) for updates about the series throughout the summer.


  *   Seed shipping update

     *   In the lower 48, two federal facilities, the Bend Seed Extractory and the Dorena Genetics Resource Center, will be cleaning SOS seeds. Unless you have received other instructions, send all collections to Bend for July and August. We will assess in September where collections should go.

     *   If you have already been told to hold on to collection for shipping to Dorena GRC, please plan on doing so. Hold onto the seed a little while longer while we iron our the final details of our partnership.

     *   If you aren't sure what to do, contact Sarah Hill at shill at blm.gov.





GIS Announcements - Kristy Snyder, ksnyder at blm.gov

  *   Please remember to complete the location calculations instead of typing in those fields! Make sure you are clicking on the map portion of the location details, and typing the correct coordinates in from there. Coordinates should be blue, if you type them directly into the lat/long fields and they are black, the location calculations will not work.

     *   Location calculations are used to:

        *   Enter the ecoregion into BG-Base- on the form you see the name but in the data review table in the Geoplatform you’ll see the BG Base code (#E)

        *   Enter the correct state/county into BG-Base

           *   Easy to misspell a county or use a different state format

        *   Filter the state for the state/ecoregional botanists

           *   If formats are different, they will not be recognized (Idaho, id, ID, and idaho all are different entries)

        *   Correctly create the reports

           *   If you type in the ecoregion, the ecoregion code will not fill in and it will not autofill when you generate reports


  *   Enter the elevation and units of elevation after generating reports if using Meters, the default entry is feet


  *   Locality descriptions for scouting/collecting-not an option, one of the most important fields on the datasheet


  *   Don’t forget to enter the unique identifier at the end of the collection equation scouting ID, I recommend just keeping a running list of scouting populations if you are not scouting a lot


  *   Let Kristy know of any glitches or suggested improvements to the digital data collection, we are always open to constructive feedback: Please let us know if you/your crew is willing to meet to give feedback!



SOS Partner Announcements

  *   Sarah Garvin/Bend

     *   Bend is ready to take collections! They have a good number of folks onboard this season to clean collections and are hoping they can stay on top of the SOS lots. Collections that have been arriving are looking really great, including berries and fleshy fruit, so keep up the good work!


  *   Haley Smith/ Dorena GRC

     *   You can learn more about the Dorena Genetic Resource Center on their website, https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/r6/landmanagement/resourcemanagement/?cid=stelprdb5279794. People at Dorena are looking forward to getting involved with cleaning SOS seed lots once our agreements are all in place. If you have any questions for them, you can contact Haley at haley.smith at usda.gov<mailto:haley.smith at usda.gov> .

  *   Erika / Smithsonian

     *   As always, use the label template on the SOS website to create your herbarium labels, and refer to the Guide to Herbarium Specimens for SOS quick guide for voucher related information! Feel free to contact Erika at GardnerE at si.edu<mailto:GardnerE at si.edu> if you have any questions.


Agency Specific Breakout Sessions


BLM - Sarah Hill, Shill at blm.gov

  *   Sarah's internet cut out, so please email current updates with the following information
     *   Team Code
     *   Collection estimate
     *   Collections made
     *   Collections shipped
     *   Anything else the National Office should know about or questions you might have.

FWS - Kelly Thomas, Kelly_Thomas at fws.gov

  *

People have been asking what information is needed prior to shipping seed. All you need to do is email me (Kelly) with number of collections you will be shipping (besides treating seed with no-pest strips, labeling bags, and including field data forms with shipment) and I will let Sarah Hill know. Sarah Garvin from Bend does not need notification unless it is a fleshy fruit. As Sarah said, plan to send ready collections to Bend unless you have already arranged with us to use Dorena (but touch base with us w/ # collections before). Dorena is currently working out some logistics. So, those shipping to Dorena, please hold on to seed for another week or so, until notified. You do not need to send in a clearance form until Jan 30th, but the sooner the better if you know you will be requesting seed back for a given project.

- You will need to send in a copy of data forms and photos to me- up to you as to whether you want to do so in batches or at the end of the year with your report and permits.


Updates

  *   Sarah Kulpa- will ship three collections to Bend next week

  *   SGI- 3 collections sent to Bend, one to be sent in soon (Danthonia spicata, Packera anonyma, Scutellaria parvula). NCBG has made 8 collections, UGA has made 1.

  *   SWSP- 17 collections have been made for FWS projects

  *   DBG- 7 collections made, might make 1 more

  *   CBG/Midwest- 9 collections made across several states. One collection of 328,000 seed!

  *   Working out FWS SOS SharePoint access issues (click "sign in with different account")

  *   Please notify Dorena before shipping. I will let teams using Dorena know when they are able to ship, sent the shipping address, and sent the Dorena clearance form."


NPS - Katie Vinzant, katharine_vinzant at nps.gov

  *   Keep Katie up to date on any issues / questions as they arise!



Sarah Hill

she/her

Seeds of Success National Curator
Bureau of Land Management - contractor

Currently working from home - contact me for my cell #


Seeds of Success<https://www.blm.gov/programs/natural-resources/native-plant-communities/native-plant-and-seed-material-development/collection>

National Seed Strategy<https://www.blm.gov/programs/natural-resources/native-plant-communities/national-seed-strategy>

Plant Conservation Alliance<https://www.blm.gov/programs/natural-resources/native-plant-communities/national-seed-strategy/pca>

Subscribe to the PCA and SOS listservs<http://lists.plantconservation.org/mailman/listinfo>

Why I list my pronouns<https://pronouns.org/what-and-why>

I respectfully acknowledge that I live and work on the unceded ancestral, traditional and contemporary lands of the Nuwe/Nume (Paiute, Shoshone, Bannock) people who have stewarded this land throughout the generations.
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