The state of california is a global floristic biodiversity hotspot, but as wildfire severity and burned acreage over the last four decades has exponentially increased, so have post-fire needs for…

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) awarded a $199,430 Cooperative Agreement under the Partners for Fish and Wildlife (CFDA 15.631) program to the Laguna De Santa Rosa Foundation in California. The funding supports the implementation of the California Native Seed Strategy by expanding the foundation's ex-situ seed production capacity. Specifically, the grant will enable the Laguna Foundation to add 1,600 sq. ft. of shade house space and 540 sq. ft. of growing tables, a 67% increase in growing table space for native plant plugs and container-grown species. This increased capacity will serve a greater number of restoration projects, both on Department of the Interior (DOI) lands and beyond. The project also includes investments in seed cleaning, processing, and storage infrastructure to address current bottlenecks in native seed production. The award period runs from December 1, 2024, to November 30, 2027.

The state of california is a global floristic biodiversity hotspot, but as wildfire severity and burned acreage over the last four decades has exponentially increased, so have post-fire needs for the right seed in the right place at the right time to protect that diversity. This project augments and accelerates ongoing collection, curation, and production efforts in california across DOI lands to support the implementation of the california native seed strategy for ecological restoration (CA native seed strategy). This project is one piece of the $3.2M FY25 funding that the DOI bureaus are receiving. The overarching project continues support for seeds of success (SOS) collection teams collecting material from national park service (NPS) park units, US fish and wildlife service (FWS) refuges, and filling gaps in ongoing statewide bureau of land management (BLM) collection efforts. The project will expand EX-situ field productions of seeds for post-fire restoration on NPS, FWS, and BLM lands through contracts and agreements. The project will continue the development and amplification of a diverse palette of early successional and other restoration workhorse species, and invest in nursery operations, seed storage, and small-scale cleaning capacity in strategic locations to complement US forest service (USFS) investments being made across the state.specifically, the laguna DE santa rosa foundation will use this program s funding to add an additional 1,600 S.F. Of shade house space (20 x 80 ) and 540 S.F. Of growing tables, a net increase of 67% in growing table space for plugs and container grown plants. The addition will be dedicated to the laguna foundation s operations with priority to projects under federal programs and for future seed amplification operations. A discount calculator will be applied to future production orders until the federal contribution of the nursery expansion is met. This increased capacity will serve a greater number of restoration projects outside of DOI in the north BAY and beyond. We will also be adding infrastructure tools and equipment for seed cleaning, processing and storage. Laguna foundation will have immediate assets to begin small-medium scale seed cleaning which is currently a bottleneck in the production of native seeds. As practical, the laguna foudnation will provide seed cleaning services for wildlland collections in coordination with point reyes national seashore seed team and other DOI collaborators through 2027.