BLM Colorado Seeds of Success Program

“The right seed, in the right place, at the right time.” That’s the philosophy behind the BLM’s Native Plant Materials Development Program.

To get the seed, which is vital to restoration efforts throughout the United States, the BLM leads the national Seeds of Success (SOS) program. SOS is the first step in the process of collecting seed that is vital to conserving the genetic material of native plant communities. Additionally, seed is made available to be grown out by BLM partners to develop seed stocks that can be used in rehabilitation and restoration efforts around the country.

Following the National Seed Strategy’s charge “to expand the collection, conservation, and assessment of native plant genetic resources for use now and into the future,” BLM Colorado has made more than 900 collections from a wide variety of native plant species around the state since 2002. Seed collections have come from all of Colorado’s ecosystems, such as beardtongues (Penstemon secundiflorus) and milkweeds (Asclepias speciosus) that are important for native pollinators, shrubs like big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) that provide habitat for wildlife such as the Greater Sage-Grouse, or native grasses that can be used to revegetate areas after a fire.

Continued and expanded partnerships and research will ensure that appropriate plant materials are around for decades to come in order to improve and restore our nation’s public lands.