On March 16-17, 2021, the Nevada Native Seed Partnership (NNSP) hosted the 5th annual Nevada Native Seed Forum. NNSP is a collaboration between numerous federal, state, and non-profit partners, including the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Nevada Department of Wildlife, the Nevada Department of Agriculture, the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and nonprofit restoration organizations like the Nature Conservancy and the Walker Basin Conservancy. And GBI is also a part of this, more specifically Jess Kindred and Sophia Heston.
These two Research Associates sit on the grower engagement subcommittee of NNSP, which organized the Nevada Native Seed Forum. The forum included roundtable discussions and presentations, and was open to all interested in restoration: federal land management agencies, state partners, current seed producers, potential seed producers, seed collectors, conservation groups, and seed buyers. Day one addressed growing native seed, and day two covered selling native seed.
Jess and Sophia participated in other important ways. Jess, a founding member of NNSP who has been a part of the forum since2016, worked alongside federal and state partners to coordinate the “Federal Seed Warehousing System” and “Collection Permitting Through BLM” presentations. She also worked with partners at a workshop in December 2019 that lead to the inclusion of the Seed Strategy into the Nevada Shared Stewardship Agreement signed by Governor Sisolak in 2020. She describes Sophia as a driving force behind the coordination of the drafting of the Nevada Native Seed Strategy, finalized by both RAs at the end of 2019.
These efforts are particularly relevant in light of actions like the bipartisan resolution introduced to the senate to designate April 2021 as National Native Plant Month.
To learn more about Nevada Native Seed Partnership, Nevada Native Seed Forum, and other native plant efforts, consult the links below.
Video from the 2021 Nevada Native Seed Forum – Day 1:
Video from the 2021 Nevada Native Seed Forum – Day 2:
The Nature Conservatory Article on the Nevada Native Seed Partnership
Governor Sisolak and Federal Agencies Plan to Reduce Nevada Wildfire Risk:
Article about the Resolution Designating April 2021 as National Native Plant Month:
