Nevada Native Seed Partnership to host Native Seed Forum in Elko on April 11-12

Join the Nevada Native Seed Partnership at the annual Nevada Native Seed Forum April 11-12, 2023. This two-day forum brings together producers, technical experts and land management agencies to discuss statewide and national seed strategies to support land restoration efforts.

“Through the Nevada Native Seed Partnership, we’ve worked hard to increase the availability of native seeds for restoration projects, and the forum will bring stakeholders together to further address issues like seed production management and seed availability to help support rehabilitation efforts,” said Meghan Brown, Division of Plant Health and Compliance deputy administrator for the Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA), member organization of the Nevada Native Seed Partnership.

Native seeds refer to plant seeds native to Nevada landscapes and cultivated in this climate. These seeds are acclimated to Nevada’s unique environment, increasing the plant’s chances of survival. The NDA supports the industry by providing wildland seed certification services and ensuring Nevada native seeds maintain purity while identifying the proper seed for use in land restoration efforts. These rehabilitation projects are completed by land management agencies or land owners in response to devastating land impacts from wildfires, invasive species, land development, or other activities that result in surface disturbance. Restoration efforts are critical to protecting wildlife habitat, supporting diverse land use, and in mitigating future wildfire impacts.

The Nevada Native Seed Partnership includes representatives from public land management agencies, like the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service; natural resource agencies, like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Nevada Department of Wildlife, the NDA, and the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources; and nonprofit restoration organizations like the Nature Conservancy and the Walker Basin Conservancy. The forum, which will include roundtable discussions and presentations, is open to anyone interested in native seed production and restoration, including federal land management agencies, state partners, current seed producers, potential seed producers, seed collectors, conservation groups and seed buyers.

The Nevada Native Seed Forum will be held in-person with the option to view virtually on April 11. An optional field trip to visit fire rehabilitation sites will also be available to in-person attendees on April 12 (weather permitting). The forum will take place at Great Basin College Greenhaw Technical Arts Center Room 130 at 1500 College Parkway in Elko, Nev. Seating will be limited. Register for the Nevada Native Seed Forum by April 4, 2023 by emailing Stephen Kielius at skielius@agri.nv.gov.

About the Nevada Department of Agriculture

The Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA) mission is to preserve, protect and promote Nevada’s agriculture. The department has 225 dedicated employees providing services in its five divisions, Administrative Services, Animal Industry, Measurement Standards, Food and Nutrition, and Plant Health and Compliance. The department’s $288 million budget facilitates regulatory and administrative work in agriculture and food manufacturing industries, protecting public and environmental health and worker safety, and providing food distribution and oversight for the United States Department of Agriculture’s school and community nutrition programs.

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