IBG Receives Native Plant Materials Grant
IBG has been awarded a Native Seed Collection grant by the Idaho Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for the past 2 years. Objectives of this grant are to collect seed from more than 40 common and uncommon native plant species for rangeland restoration purposes. Selected species are being grown at IBG for planting on local public lands in need of restoration. This project meshes well with IBG’s foothills conservation and restoration objectives.

In 2010, 24 seed lots from 20 species were collected in southwest Idaho. Seed was collected from grasses, perennial wildflowers, and shrubs. At least two and sometimes three trips to each location were required, first to locate the population, then to collect the ripe seed. Extensive data were recorded at each location, including but not limited to the GPS coordinates, associated species, soil color and texture, slope, aspect, and a population condition and size assessment. If the population was smaller than 100 individuals, seed was usually not collected. For uncommon species, seed could be collected from smaller populations, but quantity was conservatively reduced, sometimes to fewer than 50 seeds. All data were submitted to the Seeds of Success database. For more information on this national program, visit www.nps.gov