FY25 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Colorado Plant Conservation and Restoration Management

The BLM Colorado Plant Conservation and Restoration Program advances the Department of the Interior's priorities to address the climate crisis, restore balance on public lands and waters, advance environmental justice, and invest in a clean energy future. In 2025 the Colorado BLM is focused on meeting the priorities of the National Seed Strategy (www.blm.gov/seedstrategy).The BLM Colorado Plant Conservation and Restoration Program is especially focused on projects that:protect biodiversity;increase resilience to climate change and help leverage natural climate solutions;contribute to conserving at least 30 percent of our lands and waters by the year 2030;engage communities of color, low income families, and rural and indigenous communities to enhance economic opportunities related to native seed production and restoration;and use the best science and data available to make decisions. Native plants and native plant communities are the true green infrastructure we rely upon to sustain healthy, bio-diverse ecosystems. Without native seed we do not have the ability to restore functional ecosystems after natural disasters and mitigate the effects of climate change.The Colorado BLM has opportunities to work with partner organizations to do activities such as:Reduce the threats to sage grouse, rare plants, and other sensitive species in high priority habitats by supporting efforts to restore habitat for keystone wildlife and pollinator .Working with growers to develop genetically appropriate native plant material for use in habitat restoration and rehabilitation.Support studies to improve the effectiveness of conservation restoration efforts in areas such as plant ecological, plant genetics, and ecophysiological studies, seed bank persistence, plant propagation and development of agronomic production practices, and trait and/or seed source evaluations as well as seeding treatment and tool development.Support pollinator studies and projects on the importance of native plant communities and pollinators to restoration durability and ecological function. Implement conservation actions for high priority rare plant speciesIncrease understanding of rare plant biology and threats.Monitor, protect, and restore habitat that supports more than 1,800 rare plant species, more than 300 of which are found exclusively on BLM lands.Develop strategies to encourage the use of native plant materials that are genetically appropriate for restoration and reclamation across all BLM associated programs such as Wildlife, Oil & Gas, Minerals, Fuels, Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation, Range, and Renewable Energy;Increase Citizen Science through expanding public education programs on native plants and native plant communities through development of technical guidance, videos, native plant guides and floras, workshops, webinars, and apps.