BLM Pinedale Field Office participates in ‘Seeds of Success’
by Bureau of Land Management
July 27, 2011
A Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Pinedale Field Office (PFO) two-person crew of seasonal employees is hand collecting native plant seeds from at least 15 native species as part of the PFO’s third year of participating in the BLM’s Seeds of Success (SOS) program. This effort assists in acquiring native seed to be used in reclamation and restoration efforts associated with oil and gas development on the Pinedale Anticline and will continue through August.
So far this summer, collections have been made for stemless goldenweed, spiny hop-sage, Cusick’s bluegrass, false dandelion, hoary balsamroot, needle-and-thread grass and two species of fleabane from the Ross Ridge, Hogsback, Cretaceous Mountain, Reardon Draw, Muddy Creek, Soapholes and Miller Mountain areas as well as south of Big Piney. Depending on the species, a single collection of 10,000 seeds can be made in as little as two to three hours.
In addition, the crew is conducting surveys for Special Status Species (SSS) plants by mapping populations throughout the field office. Knowing the abundance and location of SSS plants is necessary to make management decisions that comply with requirements outlined in the PFO Resource Management Plan.
SOS is a part of the Native Plant Materials Development Program established by Congress in 2001 after the severe wildfire seasons of 1999 and 2000. Native forb, grass and shrub seeds are collected primarily from BLM land for long-term storage and use in conservation and reclamation. Native seeds are beneficial because they provide genetic diversity and ecological resilience and can also compete better with non-native species and weeds as many parts of the country are being affected by climate change, wildfire and drought.
SOS has over 8,163 native seed collections and gathers between 400 and 600 types of wild land seed annually. BLM SOS collections represent 10 percent of the species in the western U.S. stored in the international Millennium Seed Bank. More information on the BLM Wyoming Plant Conservation Program and SOS can be found at www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/programs/pcp.html and www.nps.gov/plants/sos.
For more information, please contact Josh Hemenway, PFO wildlife biologist, at 307-367-5322 or jhemenway@blm.gov.
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