Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden

Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, doing business as California Botanic Garden, is a non-profit native plant conservation and research organization based in Claremont, California, that serves federal agencies as a prime recipient of cooperative agreements and delivery order contracts (92% of recent awards) focused on seed banking, rare plant surveys, habitat restoration, and population genomics research. The organization operates an 86-acre living museum and maintains a comprehensive herbarium; it competes in full-and-open procurement without SBA set-asides.

The vendor's federal footprint is concentrated heavily in the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with secondary engagement from the National Science Foundation. BLM's National Office has awarded 11 cooperative agreements and delivery orders valued at $10.9 million combined potential value, anchoring the portfolio. BLM's California Region has placed 19 awards (valued at $143 thousand combined potential value), and the Fish and Wildlife Service Region 8 has awarded 9 cooperative agreements. The vendor acts as prime recipient on the vast majority of this work; it also subcontracts to federal research consortia led by the University of Colorado, the Atlanta Botanical Garden, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife on herbarium digitization and rare plant conservation projects.

Core capability areas include threatened and endangered species surveys, seed collection and banking for rare California native plants impacted by renewable energy development and wildfire, population genomic research and taxonomy studies (particularly for Mojave Desert species such as Amargosa niterwort and Peirson's milkvetch), propagation protocol development, and recovery plan support for federally listed species. Representative recent prime grants include a $536 thousand Cooperative Agreement with BLM California Region (October 2024 through September 2029) for seed collection across California's Mojave Desert ecoregion under the Plant Conservation and Restoration Management program (CFDA 15.245); a $324.2 thousand Cooperative Agreement with BLM California Region for developing propagation protocols for 11 rare plant species impacted by solar energy development; a $257.8 thousand Cooperative Agreement with BLM California Region for assessing habitat suitability models for eight plant species in renewable energy development focus areas; and a $482.6 thousand NSF Project Grant (June 2022 through May 2026) for digitizing and curating the Sherwin Carlquist botanical collection. Earlier delivery orders with BLM National Office included $96.8 thousand for Northern Mojave seed collection and $96.8 thousand for Southern Mojave seed collection (both awarded August 2023).

Awards-per-year activity declined from 10 awards in 2022 and 2023 to 7 in 2024 and 1 in 2025, with only 2 awards recorded in 2026 through February. The source data do not identify a recompete cliff. Recent subcontract work includes a federal grant sub-award from the University of Colorado (November 2024) for digitizing Asian herbarium collections at California Botanic Garden's herbarium and a sub-award from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (May 2025) for surveys and genetic studies of four federally listed plant species in southern California mountains. The vendor operates under two parent indefinite delivery contracts with BLM — IDC 140L0618D0044 (6 task orders, $810 thousand combined potential value) and IDC 140L0618D0040 (2 task orders, $23 thousand combined potential value) — which serve as standing vehicles for Mojave and Amargosa River botanical work. NAICS coding reflects Environmental Consulting Services (11 awards) and Research and Development in Life Sciences; PSC coding indicates Other Environmental Services (10 awards) and Natural Resources/Conservation—Seed Collection/Production.