Many factors have and continue to contribute to the decline of the sagebrush ecosystem in the great basin, including but not limited to the increased frequency, size, and severity of wildfires,…

The Walker Basin Conservancy will receive $262,790 through a cooperative agreement awarded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Candidate Species Conservation program (CFDA 15.660) from June 1, 2023 through September 30, 2026. The conservancy will work to increase the availability of locally adapted native plant materials for habitat restoration in arid regions of Nevada's Great Basin. Specifically, the organization will collect seed from at least 20 native plant populations well-suited to dry conditions, improve propagation methods, and convert 5-15 acres of agricultural land annually to cultivate native plant species. The goal is to establish shrub orchards to reliably produce native seed for restoring habitat without depleting wild seed sources. The conservancy will collaborate with the Service and Nevada Native Seed Partnership to prioritize target species based on restoration needs and foundation seed availability.

Many factors have and continue to contribute to the decline of the sagebrush ecosystem in the great basin, including but not limited to the increased frequency, size, and severity of wildfires, altered precipitation cycles due to climate change, land conversion, and the spread of invasive species. This has prompted the need to seed vast acreages to TRY and mitigate the loss of vital wildlife habitat. While native seed for restoration has become increasingly available, seed that is genetically appropriate and adapted to the dry conditions of the great basin has not, amplifying the difficulty in achieving success rates on habitat restoration projects. Research continues to demonstrate the importance of local adaptation to plant survival. To date, the availability of such native plant material has been scarce. There are currently very few producers of native seed in nevada partly due to the difficulty in switching from traditional agricultural crops to native plant operations or to species that have no known protocols for propagation and farming as well as the lack of genetically appropriate foundation seed available. This project will serve two purposes: (1) increasing the availability of native seeds and plant material from ecotypes adapted to dry conditions for restoration and (2) refining and developing methods of processing and increasing locally adapted native seed and sharing those materials with potential native seed producers. The conservancy will collaborate with the USFWS and partners at the nevada native seed partnership to determine target species based on need for production for restoration and foundation seed availability. The conservancy will collect seed further to a total of at least 20 dry ecotype species populations, improve capacity for propagation and trial propagation methods (e.g. cold stratification, scarification, germination temperature, soil type, planting depth, humidity levels) for these species populations, convert 5-15 acres of HAY production into native plant material production annually, and establish shrub orchards on that acreage to ensure reliable additional availability of locally adapted native seed for restoration in the arid portions of the great basin, without causing impairment to wildland seed sources, which can be stressed by climate, wildfire, and development.