Native Plants
Restoring
Native Plant Species
to the
Blue Mountains of Eastern Oregon and Washington Plant Material Development and Restoration
Activities
Current Challenges and Future Outlook:
There is certainly no lack of restoration opportunities in the Blue Mountains,
and the ICBEMP reports and draft EIS, along with other initiatives, have
raised awareness and increased support for local native plant programs. Despite
these advances, funding for genetic studies, plant material development,
and restoration activities in general is sorely lacking. In Forest Service
jargon, there is no EBLI (expanded budget line item) for restoration related
activities, with current funding coming principally from a small number of
federal appropriations and trust funds, all of which are in decline. Two
of the three Forest Service Nurseries in R-6 are closing, leaving a large
void in terms of where to propagate seeds and cuttings for planting stock.
Although there is a growing private nursery and native grass industry, space,
cost, and stock quality are highly variable. Moreover, growers are understandably
hesitant to take on new species for which basic information such as seed
biology
and propagation methodology often does not exist.
Meanwhile, we continue to monitor successes and failures, and build on local
knowledge regarding the location and condition of native plant species, and
the effectiveness of our prescriptions and restoration strategies. Pioneering
genetic investigations continue, and our knowledge increases exponentially
as we develop more efficient and effective methods for collecting and propagating
seeds and cuttings, and experiment with how, where, and under what conditions
to use them. We’re ready to get down to some serious work!
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