News published: 28 June 2023

Funds to support rare plant species on USDA Forest Service Land awarded. 

The Forest Service Rare Plant Partnerships support conservation action by botanic gardens for rare plant species that occur on USDA Forest Service land, in the U.S. and U.S. territories.

These partnerships are made possible through a cooperative agreement between the Forest Service and BGCI-US. BGCI-US would like to acknowledge the wonderful collaboration of The Center for Plant Conservation and the Chicago Botanic Garden in helping to facilitate this initiative.

Awardees are undertaking projects of 1 year, with budgets between $5,000 and $10,000. The 2023 awardees include an impressive range of projects. Congratulation to all! The winners are:

Atlanta Botanical Garden, Georgia – Seed and tissue banking for the critically imperiled Balsam Mountain Gentian.

California Botanic Garden, California – Propagation Protocols for 3 rare Brodiaea species on the Cleveland National Forest.

Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Ohio – Evaluation of the genetic diversity of a micropropagated outplanting of the rare plant Minuartia cumberlandensis in Daniel Boone National Forest.

Denver Botanic Gardens, Colorado – Conservation of rare Colorado plant species.

Laurizen Gardens, Nebraska – Conserving Capulin Goldenrod on the USFS Comanche National Grassland.

Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri – Collection of 11 threatened taxa in Cherokee and Nantahala National Forests for ex situ conservation.

Naples Botanical Garden, Florida – Conservation of Brunfelsia portoricensis and Brunfelsia lactea, 2 endemic globally imperiled shrub species from El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico.

Native Plant Trust, Massachusetts – Evaluating ex situ seed longevity and defining the germination niche of critically imperiled Robbins’ cinquefoil (Potentilla robbinsiana).

Here is a look at some of the projects being developed:

The Forest Service Rare Plant Partnership grants are part of the Global Botanic Garden Fund which drives plant conservation across the globe.