Use of Native Plants on Federal Lands: Policy and Practice

Changing social values and advances in ecological knowledge determine native seed policy for revegetating range and forest lands. Natural resource managers are shifting from seeding introduced species for their widespread adaptability to reestablishing native species in order to maintain or restore the genetic and ecological integrity of naive ecosystems. Addressing the problems of reestablishing native plants on a site-specific basis has been increasingly recognized as an integral part of ecosystem management of large landscapes. We review the formation and implementation of native seed policy for fire rehabilitation and mining reclamation by the major federal land management agencies in the United States, the Department of Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Department of Agriculture's Forest Service. We then examine native seed policy implementation on specific land revegetation projects over the past 10 years for 4 BLM districts in the state of Nevada. We conclude with an analysis of native seed policy in principle versus practice and suggest implications for future policy review and implementation.