Abstract:
The Seeds of Success (SOS) is a wildland seed collection program in support of the
interagency Native Plant Materials Development Program (NPMP) and in partnership
with the global conservation initiative, the Millennium Seed Bank Project of the Royal
Botanic Gardens, Kew. SOS collections follow a set protocol with consideration for the
optimal genetic diversity of the sample, the future utility of the species, and the
sustainability of the current population. These high-quality, well documented seed
collections serve a dual purpose; they help land managers in meeting the many
restoration, rehabilitation, and revegetation needs of degraded lands across the country
and they also serve as ex situ conservation material in national and international seed
banks for future research and development and the security of the world’s plant
diversity at a time of mass extinction. My five-month internship with the Bureau of
Land Management in Las Cruces, New Mexico, initiated the SOS program for the state
and resulted in at least thirty-two collections for long-term banking, local restoration,
and research and development by the USDA Agricultural Research Service. The future
of the NPMP depends on continued support by land managers in addition to
partnerships with the commercial seed industry for overcoming the current challenges
and economic liabilities of broad scale native plant materials production.
