OUTCOME: Ecosystem Conservation and Restoration

Problem

There is inadequate capacity in existing nurseries to supply appropriate planting stock for restoration and reforestation projects. Existing business models and funding structures are inadequate to expand the capacity and meet the need.

Solution

Nursery Supply Chain - Develop and support new and existing nurseries to supply a diversity of native plants for high-priority restoration and reforestation projects.

Background and Context

Successful long-term restoration efforts require a consistent supply of seeds, seedlings, and nursery stock – the right plants, from the right place, at the right time. Providing such a supply is immensely complicated. It requires consistent funding and support for seed collection and propagation of genetically and location-appropriate nursery stock, and coordination between restoration planners and nursery managers to ensure that plants are available when the implementation schedule calls for them. Producing sufficient planting stock for the increased pace, scope, and scale of restoration work called for in federal, state, and regional plans will also require massive expansion of the capacity of existing nurseries and the development of new nurseries, as surveys show that even if all existing public and private nurseries maximize their current capacity, they would only be able to supply ~25% of the estimated number of seedlings required for the reforestation that is called for by federal and state plans (Fargione et al 2021).

There are significant barriers to expansion that must be addressed. A 2020 survey of 111 US nurseries revealed the top barriers to expanding existing nursery production are the lack of an available and qualified workforce, market issues (including the coordination and planning difficulty of contract growing and the financial risk of speculative growing), no available financing, insufficient space, costs to expand infrastructure, lack of seed availability, lack of or restrictions on water supply, and regulations designed to prevent public nurseries from competing with private nurseries (Fargione et al 2021).

Due to the need for seed and propagule collection from locally appropriate seed sources, the process for creating available planting stock for restoration can take more than a year. For emergency reforestation following wildfires, it is not possible for landowners and managers to anticipate planting stock needs in advance. Even for planned restoration efforts, it is unrealistic to expect landowners and managers to have completed plans in place in time to enter contracts with nurseries eighteen months in advance of project implementation. At the same time, it is unreasonable to expect nurseries to take on the risk of speculative production of nursery stock, without contracts or other predictable guarantees that there will be a market for the plants. Thus, restoration efforts are often hampered by a lack of supply of appropriate nursery stock. A new system of funding and support is required to break this logjam, particularly in the face of the need to dramatically increase the pace, scope, and scale of restoration of fire-damaged landscapes in an ecologically appropriate manner.

Recommendations

In order to expand the capacity of public and private nurseries, funding must be provided on several levels. State nurseries should be fully funded in order to ramp up production of native conifer and hardwood species. In addition, Tribes, local community organizations (i.e., RCDs, CBOs, educational institutions, and land-based conservation organizations) should be provided capital and operational funding in order to create or expand local nurseries to grow seedlings for habitat enhancement and reforestation projects. Funding for building facilities, supplies, operational expenses, and at least one FTE Nursery Manager will be required to launch these efforts. Funding must be sustained in order to ensure an uninterrupted supply of plants to enable ecosystem restoration at the pace, scope, and scale that the problem requires. Local nurseries can incorporate education and job training components at the high school or community college level, and should be supported in their efforts to do so.

NCRP will support a Restoration Nursery Coordinator position to develop and implement a plan to improve the restoration nursery pipeline and coordinate the many seed and plant supply aspects of successful on-the-ground restoration project planning and implementation. Responsibilities will include coordination between regional entities that are planning and implementing restoration projects and the local nurseries that are interested in growing plants for such projects; the creation of a restoration nursery manual and support of new and expanding nursery operations; and conducting trainings and providing technical assistance to community groups, schools, nonprofits, Tribes, etc. who want to start restoration nurseries to support local restoration activities.

Actions

Determine long-term nursery stock needs based on ecosystem restoration mapping and planning data sets and evaluate methods to meet those needs (see Ecosystem Restoration – Planning Solution).

Evaluate the currently existing capacity to collect and catalog diverse seed stocks and produce nursery stock for reforestation in the North Coast region.

  • Evaluate need for financial subsidies for capital and for operations and maintenance, other financial needs, and revenue diversification.
  • Evaluate labor needs and potential for coordination with year-round restoration crews for seasonally intensive activities like seed collecting and sowing.
  • Evaluate feasibility of integrating small local nurseries with educational institutions or CBOs providing restoration training, certificates, or internship programs.
  • Evaluate capacity and interest of Tribes and land-based CBOs to create or expand nurseries to supply plants for local projects.
  • Establish mechanism to coordinate/connect nurseries and planners so plant material is available for the projects that are in the pipeline
  • Evaluate what plant material should be produced speculatively for anticipated needs.
  • Develop regional plan for nursery production based on a combination of regional ecosystem restoration planning and a targeted level of speculative growing for each county/community/subregion.
  • Evaluate number and location of nurseries needed to supply local demand.

Conduct interviews with Tribal representatives to determine whether Tribes would be interested in forming restoration/reforestation nurseries focused on standard or ecocultural restoration and what support would be needed to assist with development.

Explore potential for partnerships between USFS and private industrial timber company nurseries to provide plants for restoration projects on private lands.

Develop a Restoration Nursery Manual to guide nursery development and native plant production for ecological restoration projects.

Evaluate alternatives to supplement container planting for restoration projects, including direct seeding of acorns, grasses, etc., and create outreach materials about viable alternatives.

Develop hands-on training in seed identification, collection, and conservation modelled on the Seeds of Success program of BLM (which focuses on non-tree species). Offer this training both as part of restoration workforce training, but also to citizen volunteers to empower a cadre of citizen naturalists to supplement public efforts. This is a key function that can be fulfilled by publicly funded regional nurseries as part of education/training/outreach/volunteer programs.

Evaluate BLM Seed Production IDIQ Contracts which build private sector capacity to procure and increase native seed availability – explore whether such contracts can be expanded to woody plant materials and could be used by other agencies.

Support development and utilization of new tools for seed zone selection for future climatic expectations, including expansion of species covered to include hardwoods and other non-conifer species.

Identify policies and regulations that limit the ability of publicly funded nurseries to provide plants for restoration projects and suggest modifications (i.e., restriction of sales to public entities, minimum sales amounts, landowner size restrictions, etc.) and suggest changes.

Evaluate co-located nurseries with planned regional Biomass/Bioenergy/Wood Product campuses, where energy for greenhouses can be provided by bioenergy, interns and staff can cross-train in various businesses, and restoration business hubs can be formed and supported.

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