In our last piece, we discussed the recent $18 million investment from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) for the National Seed Strategy Keystone Initiative. One of the recipients of this funding is the Victor Valley College Native Seed Production project, part of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Mojave Desert Native Plant Program (MDNPP) in southern California.
The Mojave Desert Native Plant Program
MDNPP is an ecoregional program in the BLM’s Plant Conservation and Restoration Program that builds on the Seeds of Success Program, which we covered in the first piece of this series. An ecoregion can be identified by its climate, environmental conditions, landforms, and soils.
Working at this level enables the department to use its resources efficiently by developing practices and systems aimed at the broadest possible array of vegetation. Additionally, because ecoregions do not abide by jurisdictions any more than vegetation growth does, it enables the BLM to collaborate with other federal, state, and local governments, Tribes, private companies, nonprofits, and universities to find common solutions to common problems.
The Mojave Desert is just one of the ecoregions the BLM focuses on, in addition to the Colorado Plateau and the Great Basin.
For its part, the MDNPP was launched in 2016. It spans habitats, including desert basins, isolated mountain ranges, sand dunes, and riparian areas near springs and streams. Plus, it covers a swath of land across southern California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah, and northwestern Arizona.
However, the region faces significant challenges, including irregular precipitation, regular droughts, and enormous wildfires. In one year — 2005 — nearly 1 million acres burned. Moreover, plants face pressure from hungry granivores and herbivores and competition from the arrival of invasive species after the fires, such as Mediterranean grass (Schismus spp.) and red brome (Bromus rubens). Urban development, road construction, large energy projects, and the lack of commercial seed producers pose additional threats.
Photo Courtesy USGS Science in California
Therefore, this program intends to expand the number of native plant materials and enhance the knowledge and technology required to restore those plant communities in the Mojave Desert. Through common garden studies by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and genetic studies in partnership with Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, the MDNPP researches and develops seed transfer zones (STZs).
STZs identify the priority plant materials that are ecologically appropriate — naturally growing in the area — or genetically appropriate — adapted to the local climate.
MDNPP then organizes the collection of seeds from each STZ, which the program grows in the gardens for testing.
Currently, the program operates 10 common garden research sites spanning six STZs. Some of the species for which such work has already been conducted include the desert globemallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua) and the Nevada jointfir (Ephedra nevadensis).
In choosing its priority species, the MDNPP focuses on restoring the habitats of the Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii), first listed as federally threatened in 1990. The habitats of pollinators like bees, butterflies, and moths were added after the National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators was published in 2015.
Photo Courtesy USFWS
MDNPP is also developing native plant materials. For example, the Tucson Plant Materials Center, operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, is working with BLM’s Southern Nevada District Office on germplasms. This process consists of growing seeds together from a mix of locations and populations so they can adapt and increase their chances of surviving in various climates and environments. The seeds are then given to growers and plant nurseries to increase their numbers.
One of the biggest priorities of the entire program is to enhance the commercial availability of these species by increasing the numbers of commercial growers and ensuring that they are aware of the demand for priority shrubs, which they may be otherwise hesitant to grow due to difficulty or expense.
Again, in collaboration with USGS, MDNPP also helps land managers make decisions about seed mixes and restoration processes.
For example, a seed menu tool houses information on which species to mix for particular habitat types. Meanwhile, a Climate Distance Mapper Tool outlines the sources of seeds for various restoration efforts.
Finally, the MDNPP also develops techniques used for restoration, such as aerial and hand seeding of priority species, decoy seeding and encapsulation of seeds to discourage predator species, and herbicide treatments to combat invasive ones.
Photo Courtesy Hyer Family Farms
The Victor Valley College Native Seed Production Project
As noted above, a recipient of the recent $18 million in funding is Victor Valley College, suitingly located in Victorville, California. The community college’s five-year-long Native Seed Production project, launched in 2022 in partnership with BLM and housed under the Mojave Desert Native Plant Program, aims to come up with guidelines for harvesting native seeds in the ecoregion, increase the output of native seeds, and ultimately grow more native plants.
Students engage in the program and contribute to restoration efforts via capstone projects that also help them acquire experience for future employment. So far, participants have grown approximately 1,800 plants.
“Students are developing native plant growing techniques to increase seed production,” Judy Perkins, Mojave Desert Ecoregional Native Plant coordinator for the BLM California State Office, said in a blog post. “Then they will start scaling up seed increase project size to the agricultural field scale.”
The project’s staff will focus on helping local farmers who have lost or are in the process of losing water rights to transition from water-intensive alfalfa farming to growing other native plants.
Photo Courtesy Judy Perkins, BLM California Mojave Desert Ecoregional Native Plant Coordinator, and Jesse Pluim, Public Affairs Specialist
The college is an ideally located partner for the BLM. As a recreational getaway for residents of Southern California and a hub for the construction of clean energy projects, Victor Valley’s local ecosystems are feeling the pressure.
Members of its community have long participated in local environmental efforts. For example, when BLM launched a tamarisk removal program in 2006, the college pitched in to weed out invasive trees and restore native trees around the Amargosa River. Known as the “Crown Jewel of the Mojave Desert,” it is the sole free-flowing river in Death Valley, where temperatures above 120°F have been recorded.
Like all of us, the students at Victor Valley College have a lot to lose in the face of global temperature changes. The funding for their efforts to preserve local habitats should give them a helpful boost for incrementally more impact.
Photo Courtesy Jesse Pluim, BLM
