Native Seed Production Helps Landowners and Imperiled Species

Taylor’s checkerspot-This butterfly is federally listed as endangered. Photo by Rod Gilbert.
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Submitted by South Sound Prairies

CNLM staff harvesting blue-eyed-Mary (Collinsia parviflora) seed.
CNLM staff harvesting blue-eyed-Mary (Collinsia parviflora) seed.

Our goal is to produce over a ton of wildflower seeds each year”, said Sierra Smith, the manager of the Center for Natural Lands Management’s Conservation Nursery. 

These seeds are needed to help restore natural habitat and recover endangered species in the South Sound Prairies.  The Conservation Nursery moved their seed production last year to CNLM’s Violet Prairie Preserve and our prairies are already seeing the positive returns.

Golden paintbrush is a federally-listed species, and is on one of the fastest trajectories to be delisted from the federal list – mainly because seed production and restoration efforts have created some fantastically robust new populations, populations with tens of thousands of individuals, when there were only a couple of thousand total plants in the world when the species was listed.

We are hopeful that golden paintbrush will merit being removed from the federal endangered species list by 2017”, said Ted Thomas, the biologist in charge of recovery program for the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Another use of native seed is to create or improve habitat for two other listed species, Taylor’s checkerspot and Mazama pocket gopher.

Golden paintbrush-This yellow flower is federally listed as threatened.
Golden paintbrush-This yellow flower is federally listed as threatened.

“We only have a limited number of protected prairies in South Sound.  We therefore want to maximize the resources on those lands, and that means restoring habitat for our endangered species”, said Patrick Dunn, Director of CNLM’s South Sound Program.

The checkerspot has been reintroduced to four sites in South Sound, while gopher habitat has also been improved.  Dunn believes that by increasing populations of endangered species on protected lands it helps both the species and landowners throughout South Sound; “When conditions improve for the species on conservation lands, then the relative significance of other populations decreases”.

The Dept. of Defense supports this strategy, and works with CNLM to help reduce the threat that endangered species could pose for military training on Joint Base Lewis-McChord.  The Army’s Compatible-Use Buffer Program has contributed funding for the acquisition of the Violet Prairie Preserve and establishing the Native Seed Program.

This year we will produce nearly 7 billion seeds – that is one for nearly every person on Earth!  I really can’t wait to see that many seeds adding to the spectacular spring bloom” –Smith summarizes.

Supplemental information

CNLM: The Center for Natural Lands Management (CNLM) is a non-profit conservation organization dedicated to the protection and restoration of imperiled species and their habitats in the states of Washington and California.

The beauty of spring at the South Sound Prairies. Photo by Rod Gilbert
The beauty of spring at the South Sound Prairies. Photo by Rod Gilbert

South Sound Prairies: The prairies and oak woodlands of the South Sound are some of the most rare and beautiful landscapes in North America.  During the spring, multi-colored blankets of flowers cover the lush grasslands, and flashy butterflies and birds roam the landscape. These wide-open spaces are home for many unique plants and animals from the federally endangered Taylor’s checkerspot to the federally threatened golden paintbrush. The native prairies are also one of the most endangered places in the country. The original prairie range has been reduced by 90% and the remaining prairies are threatened by many threats including, conversion to other land uses and the invasion of native weeds.

To restore the native prairie vegetation and guide the recovery of endangered species in the South Sound Prairies, a copious amount of native seed is needed.  The Center for Natural Lands Management (CNLM), in collaboration with other conservation organizations, has been producing seed about 100 species of native prairie wildflowers during this past year.

 

 

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