WHAT: In 2015, 12 federal agencies and 300+ cooperators of the Plant Conservation Alliance (PCA) released the National Seed Strategy for Rehabilitation and Restoration (2015) to address widespread shortages of native plant materials. In 2021, the PCA published the 2015-2020 National Seed Strategy Progress Report. Today, the PCA Federal Committee is collecting information from federal employees on relevant projects that occurred in FY21 (October 1, 2020 – September 31, 2021).

WHY: Given the recent surge of interest in the National Seed Strategy, annual reporting of progress on the National Seed Strategy is important to demonstrate effective interagency collaboration and achievements. The information collected will be used to generate a progress report for FY21. The information you submit will be anonymous.

WHO: Federal employees and contractors can submit projects with supervisor approval. The National Seed Strategy reporting team would like your help by reporting on projects that your agency has been involved in FY 21. This effort covers any activity where a federal agency was involved.    

WHAT IS AN ELIGIBLE PROJECT? As long as the project addresses National Seed Strategy goals, it is eligible. The goals are 1) Identifying and quantifying seed needs; 2) Undertaking research and improving technologies for seed production and use; 3) Developing tools for land managers; and 4) Ensuring good communications. Examples of projects include research, working groups, planning, education, outreach campaigns, and on-the-ground actions. Basically, any activity related to plant conservation, fire mitigation, wildlife habitat, invasive species, disaster recovery and preparedness, and more is eligible.  

In addition, the project needs to have occurred during fiscal year 2021. If you submitted a project that covers FY21 to the 2015-2020 Progress Report, please look for an email asking you to fill out a project update form. You do not need to re-submit a project to this effort. 

HOW DO YOU DEFINE A PROJECT? This is largely up to you, but here are some considerations:   

You may want to report on projects separately if they were funded from separate proposals, or if you plan to produce multiple separate products (e.g., publications and tools) from the projects.   

There is a question that asks if the project is tied to a larger effort, so that all projects affiliated with a single larger effort can be tracked together.  

HOW BIG IS THIS ASK? The estimated time to complete the form is 30 minutes or less and the form walks you through the goals so you don’t need to know anything about the National Seed Strategy to submit a project. 

See the following list of questions. You will be asked for a brief summary; links to related products such as articles, websites, or tools; an estimate of project costs; and a list of project partners. You will need to complete the form in one session.  

WHO CAN SUBMIT? Entries can only be submitted by federal employees and federal contractors with supervisor permission. In an effort to avoid duplicate entries, we ask that project leads fill out the form or designate someone to represent the project. Please talk with your collaborators to make sure you do not duplicate entries.  

QUESTIONS ON THE REPORT FORM

Note: All information will be used anonymously in the final report and we will not share your contact information.

What is your federal email address? 

What is your name? 

What is your job title? 

What is the name of your project? 

Brief project description. 

PROJECT INFORMATION

Which steps of the native plant materials development process does this project involve (check all that apply)? 

See www.blm.gov/npmd and https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13499 for detailed descriptions and examples of each step. If the project involved research for any of the steps, select those as well.

• Native seed collection (Harvesting seed from wild populations)
• Evaluation and development (Research on species traits. e.g., germination, pollinators, seed transfer zones)
• Field establishment (Development of production protocols and seed stock by the agricultural science community)
• Production (Farming seed and other plant materials)
• Seed certification and procurement (Cleaning, testing, labeling, and purchasing seed)
• Seed storage (short and long-term seed banking)
• Restoration of native plant communities (On-the-ground restoration, including research on restoration practices)
• Other:

Which keywords help describe your project (select all that apply)? 

• Scientific research or data collection
• Project planning/strategies/work done in an office
• Natural disaster recovery and mitigation
• Fire rehabilitation & fire-related
• Invasive species mitigation
• Reclamation & mining-related
• Wildlife habitat & wildlife corridors
• Supporting rare or threatened & endangered plants or animals
• Climate change mitigation or preparation
• Carbon sequestration
• Employs, develops, or trains workforce
• Increased private sector jobs
• Benefits disadvantaged or underserved communities
• Recreation
• Citizen science
• Pollinator habitat
• Collaborative working group
• Regional seed partnership
• Public-private partnership
• Tribal partnership and/or located on Tribal lands
• Located inside a National Park
• Located on BLM lands
• Located on a USFWS Wildlife refuge
• Located within a National Forest
• Located on Department of Defense lands

List all federal agencies involved in the project, including your own. (Choose all that apply)

• Agricultural Research Service
• Army Corp of Engineers
• Bureau of Indian Affairs
• Bureau of Land Management
• Department of Defense
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Federal Highway Administration
• Forest Service
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• National Park Service
• Natural Resources Conservation Service
• Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
• Smithsonian Institution
• U.S. Botanic Garden
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• U.S. Geological Survey
• Other:

Please list any non-federal partners.

What was the START date of the project? 

What was the END or projected end date of your project?

Is your project ongoing? (Past 2021 with no expected end)

How much did your project cost?

What was the funding source? 

• Program Funding
• Grant
• Partnership
• Private
• Other:

Who funded the project? 

Do we need to know anything else about your project funding?

Does the project have a webpage?

Is this project part of a larger effort?

If yes, what is the name of this larger effort?

Is there a website for this larger effort?

What is the scope of your project? 

• National (>50% of the nation)
• Regional (>1 state AND <50% of the nation)
• State-wide (>50% of a state)
• Local (<50% of a state)
• Other:

Which state(s) is your project in?

PROJECT METRICS

What are representative coordinates of your project? See instructions. 

• Obtain coordinates at: https://www.latlong.net/ Approximate coordinates are fine for sensitive locations or large projects. If project is in an office, please still submit coordinates. LIST ONLY ONE SET OF COORDINATES IN DECIMAL DEGREES. EXAMPLE: 35.198181, -111.651321

How many native species (including genotypes) are you currently collecting? 

• Seed collection only. Count species as well as separate genotypes or distinct seed transfer zones of the same species. If this is not applicable to your project, write '0.'

Are collections affiliated with the Seeds of Success (SOS) Program?

How many native species (including genotypes) do you currently have in production? 

• Seed increase and farming of native plant materials only. Count species as well as separate genotypes or distinct seed transfer zones of the same species. If this is not applicable to your project, write '0.'

How many pounds of seed did your project produce? 

• This is for farming or large-scale wild collection of seed that was used directly in restoration projects. If producing <1lb, write '<1' If not applicable, write '0.'

How many growers of seed did this project support? 

• This is number of entities: seed farms, nurseries, and greenhouses (not numbers of workers at the seed farm). If not applicable, write '0'

How many NEW facilities were added or supported by this project? 

• Includes warehouses or seed storage, seed cleaning facilities, production such as greenhouses and farms, and research labs. If not applicable, write '0.'

How many native species (including genotypes) are you researching or developing tools for? 

• This includes developing empirical seed transfer zones, conducting genetic or common garden studies, developing protocols for production or storage, and/or other species-specific research. If this is not applicable to your project, write '0.'

How many NEW federal employees and federal contractors were hired or supported by this project? 

How many NEW non-federal jobs were hired or supported by this project? 

• This can include jobs paid directly by grants and agreements or indirectly by leveraging partnerships. If not applicable, write '0.'

How many acres were directly restored by your project? 

• Answer only for 'on the ground' restoration projects. Answer must be in number of acres, use decimals if necessary. If not applicable, write '0'

If this was a restoration project, how did you source seed or other plant materials (select all that apply)? 

• Not applicable
• Source-identified certification
• Commercial seed vendor
• Regional partnership
• Collected from wild populations for direct use
• Contract grow-out (Collected from wild and paid a farmer to increase it)
• BLM National Seed Warehouse System (not through an IDIQ contract)
• BLM Native Grass and Forb Increase IDIQ contract
• Seed was used for container plants grown in a greenhouse
• Cuttings, propagules or other non-seed sources
• Other:

Did your project have sufficient native seed to achieve project outcomes (check all that apply)? 

• Not applicable
• Yes
• No, the project would have benefited from a more species-diverse seed mix
• No, the project would have benefited from more source-identified, genetically diverse seed
• Other:

NATIONAL SEED STRATEGY GOALS

Did your project or is your project helping to meet Goal 1: Identify seed needs, and ensure the reliable availability of genetically appropriate seed? 

• This includes assessing seed needs; increasing the supply of native seed; collecting seed; expanding facilities, capacity, and protocols for collecting, storing, and procuring seed.

Did your project or is your project helping to meet Goal 2: Identify research needs and conduct research to provide genetically appropriate seed and to improve technology for native seed production and ecosystem restoration? 

• This includes developing seed transfer zones; research on seed technology, storage, and production; research on genetics and seed storage and viability; and research on restoration best practices.

Did your project or is your project helping to meet Goal 3: Develop tools that enable managers to make timely, informed seeding decisions for ecological restoration? 

• This includes training programs; decision-support and science delivery tools; restoration guides; and ecoregional native plant project reports.

Did your project or is your project helping to meet Goal 4: Develop strategies for internal and external communication? 

• This includes both internal (to federal bureau) and external (to public) education and outreach.

PRODUCTS

Are you able to provide us with any reports or publications? 

What is the citation? 

What is the link to the report or publication (if applicable)?

Do you have any other links, products, or publications you would like to share?

Please provide a short description of the link above as applicable.

Do you have any project photos? 

• We will send you an email requesting the photos.