The Plant Conservation Alliance (PCA) holds bi-monthly meetings that are an open forum for anyone interested or working in plant conservation. Meetings are held every other month, remotely on Microsoft Teams.
Each meeting features a speaker from the plant conservation community. In addition, there is a roundtable for attendees to share relevant events, as well as updates from each of the PCA working groups and committees. Regular attendees include representatives from the PCA Federal agencies and from Cooperating organizations; however anyone is welcome to attend this meeting.
NEXT MEETING: Wednesday, November 13, 2 - 4 pm ET (Remote Only)
FEATURED PRESENTER: Dr. Evan Larson, Professor, Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Platteville
TOPIC: Restoring Relationships and Beneficial Fire to Great Lakes Forests
ABOUT THE PRESENTATION: The idea of conservation is evolving, making space for people to be recognized as contributors to diversity and resiliency, and not just the damaging agents so often at the core of Western perspectives. Our collective relationship with fire embodies this change. In this talk, I will share emerging research weaving tree-ring-based fire history information with Indigenous Knowledge to tell a more complete and accurate story about the role of people and fire in shaping the forested landscapes of the Upper Great Lakes, and in particular the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, a landscape that helped justify establishment of the 1964 Wilderness Act that codified the separation of people and nature. In the context of this story, notions of wilderness dissolve while ideas of reciprocity bring people squarely into the community of life as active participants and co-creators, rather than separate individualists. In particular, fire and forest demographic data illustrate that the fates of people and red pine are intertwined and moderated through flames, and that this relationship serves as a flagship for myriad other fire-dependent beings. The stories of fire held in the rings of trees are a vital catalyst to this effort, enabling cross-cultural conversations and collaborations among a growing network of stakeholder groups engaged in land and fire stewardship across the Great Lakes Region.
ABOUT OUR PRESENTER: Evan Larson is a father, husband, teacher, scientist, and enthusiast of wild places. Evan's childhood took place in the woods of central Minnesota, helping his parents tend 80 acres of mixed hardwood forests. Drawn by mountains, oceans, and forests, his formal education includes an Environmental Science bachelor’s degree from Willamette University, degrees in geography from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville (M.S.) and the University of Minnesota (PhD), and a Faculty Fulbright fellowship to Mid Sweden University in Sundsvall. Less formally, Evan's philosophy of life has been informed by significant doses of reflection, books, chainsaws and firewood. Evan has 23 years of experience using tree rings to investigate environmental history including past patterns of climate, disturbance, and forest change. As Professor and Chair in the Department of Environmental Sciences & Society at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Evan teaches courses that blur the lines between physical and cultural geography and that are infused with undergraduate research in search of transformative learning experiences. The work that is currently at the center of Evan's thoughts and energy is fueled by the enthusiasm of amazing collaborators who are together working to re-story the interwoven relationships among people, fire, and pine in Great Lakes Forests.
***TO ATTEND THIS MEETING, PLEASE RSVP by Tuesday, November 12, by 5 pm ET, to elizabeth_krone@fws.gov***
The meeting login details will be shared via calendar invite and email at least one day before the meeting.
Please see 'MS Teams How To' [pdf] for step-by-step directions to join the meeting. You will be able to join the meeting from the web or via the Microsoft Teams app, which can be downloaded in advance here.
FUTURE MEETINGS
Mark your calendars for the 2024 PCA Speaker Series, to be held the second Wednesday of January, March, May, July, September, and November. Download the full list of 2024 speakers here.
November 13: Dr. Evan Larson on “Restoring Relationships and Beneficial Fire to Great Lakes Forests”
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
January 10, 2024 – Jeffery Carstens, horticulturist, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, discussed the Ash Conservation Project at USDA National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS), where he works with a team of scientists to expand the diversity of plant genetic resources collections in order to facilitate their conservation and utilization in research.The NPGS is a cooperative network, coordinated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), that is dedicated to preserving the genetic diversity of plants. Scientists must have access to genetic diversity to help bring forth new varieties that can resist pests, diseases, and environmental stresses. The NPGS aids scientists and their needs for genetic diversity by acquiring, preserving, evaluating, documenting and distributing germplasm and associated information.The Ash Conservation Project is a response to the introduction of the emerald ash borer that attacks all species of ash. The goal is to assemble collectons targeting taxonomic diversity and ecoregions across the U.S. In additiuonm herbarium speccimens were taken, verify seed quality. Ensuring plant genetics are captured through robust sampling before they are lost to EAB. View the presentation [ppt] and recording [YouTube].
November 8, 2023 – Dr. Anne Frances, Botanist, USDA Agricultural Research Service and Nan McCarry, free-lance ethnobotanist presented on collaborating to conserve North American grapes (Vitis spp.). They also addressed the positive outcomes from collaborating with multiple stakeholder groups to conserve crop wild relatives. Grapes provide one of the best examples of using crop wild relatives to improve domesticated crops. North America is one of three major centers of grape diversity, with about 25 species and varieties native to the United States. Several native North American Vitis taxa are used primarily as rootstock for the cultivated grapevine, while other species are used in breeding. For example, Concord grapes are a hybrid cultivar of Vitis labrusca and V. vinifera originally developed in 1849 in Concord, Massachusetts. Due to ongoing threats and changing climatic conditions, grape species native to North America are increasingly important to improving the cultivated grapevine. However, information on the complementary conservation (in situ and ex situ) was lacking and scattered among different stakeholder groups. To more comprehensively address conserving North American wild Vitis species, a workshop was convened in November 2022. The workshop, a collaboration among the U.S. Botanic Garden, NatureServe, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, and the Oak Spring Garden Foundation, brought together twenty scientists from the agricultural and conservation communities to identify conservation gaps in North American native grapes. View the presentation (part 1, part 2) [ppt] and recording [YouTube].
September 13, 2023 – Dr. Julie Larson, Postdoctoral Research Ecologist, USDA-ARS presented on the relevance of seed and seedling traits in applied restoration, and what restoration can teach us about Diversity & Inclusion efforts. In the past decade, organizations have made major strides in the effort to increase the collection and production of more diverse native plant materials for restoration. However, establishment from seed still poses a major challenge in many regions, and species can vary widely in their recruitment windows. Dr. Larson discussed ways to leverage the seed and seedling traits of species to understand more about their different recruitment strategies, using recently collected data from 50 restoration species in the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau, and using species’ traits to inform potential strategies for short- and long-term seeding success. In a rapidly changing world, restoration and conservation efforts depend upon a growing, engaged, and creative workforce. For the last portion of the talk, Dr. Larson discussed how we can apply lessons learned in restoration ecology to also support a more diverse and inclusive natural resources community.
July 7, 2023 – Dr. Jeremy Pinto is a Research Plant Physiologist at the USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station and serves as a Tribal Nursery Specialist on the National Reforestation, Nurseries, and Genetic Resources team. When it comes to choosing plant materials for any type of revegetation project, there are a plethora of options to pick from. Finding the right one, however, involves many factors that need to balance time, cost, scale, priority, and available resources. Direct seeding or natural regeneration can be effective plant establishment strategies in some restoration applications, but the use of nursery plant materials can be an effective option and should be an additional tool in the revegetation toolbox. In this presentation, Dr. Pinto covered the basics when considering the use of nursery seedlings including timing, seed use, stock type (including genetic source), application, and benefits. The Target Plant Concept, a holistic and adaptable approach to plant material development and use, was introduced. Dr. Pinto also discussed how some tribes integrate cultural objectives into restoration and conservation projects. View the presentation (part 1, part 2) [ppt] and recording [YouTube].
May 10, 2023 – Dr. Emily Coffey, Carrie Radcliffe, and Sarah Norris, Atlanta Botanic Garden, presented on The Southeastern Plant Conservation Alliance (SE PCA) and the development of the nation’s 1st Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need (RSGCN) for plants. The mission of the Southeastern Center for Conservation, held at Atlanta Botanical Garden, is to promote strategies, networking, and partnerships to conserve imperiled plants and natural communities. The SE PCA was formalized in 2020 and built upon years of strategizing and networking and brings together local and national partners. The SE PCA includes individual members representing government agencies, land managers, botanical gardens, university programs, experts, and professionals; steering committee and task team members; the network area includes 15 states and territories. The Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need (RSGCN) comes of a broad collaborative effort with the goal to bridge gaps between local and national efforts to prevent and restore the loss of plant diversity in the Southeast. State Wild Action Plans (SWAPS) are a driving force to develop the SGCN as plants often not included in SWAPS. The current goal is to identify imperiled plant species that will inform 2025 state wildlife action plans. There are over 10,000 species in the 15 states of the SE with 9271 native taxa. About 20% of the list are RSGCN species. Learn about the SE PCA RSGCN here. View the presentation (part 1, part 2) [ppt] and recording [YouTube].
March 8, 2023 – Dr. Tanisha Williams, Postdoctoral Fellow in Botany at Bucknell University, presented her work on protecting rare and endangered plants through university and governmental partnerships. Pennsylvania’s unique geologic history has given rise to impressive levels of plant diversity. Sixty percent of the native species recognized by Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources are classified as rare, threatened, or endangered. These statuses are often exacerbated by urban development, invasive species, and climate change. To conserve native species and combat population declines, a natural partnership emerged between Bucknell University and the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program. The Natural Heritage Program is the boots on the ground: collecting materials, ground-truthing sites, and working with landowners. Bucknell University is the laboratory partner: working mainly with genomics processing and data analyses. Both parties are working together to update the conservation status of rare plants and conserve unique habitats. One such focal species is Chasmanthium latifolium (Poaceae), a perennial grass that lives in riparian areas. C. latifolium is native to the southern midwest and the eastern half of the US, and Pennsylvania denotes the northeastern range edge. The few remaining Pennsylvania populations comprise of two metapopulations that exhibit an east-west disjunction. Due to isolation between populations and habitat declines, C. latifolium is considered critically impaired (S1) by the Natural Heritage Program but is ranked as undetermined by the state. This research surveys the remaining C. latifolium populations and assesses genetic diversity and connectivity. Through this partnership, the state legislator is using scientifically-informed knowledge to revise the conservation status of this endangered species and address policies to protect its unique habitat. View the presentation (part 1, part 2) [ppt] and recording [YouTube].
January 11, 2023 – Sara Fitzsimmons, Chief Conservation Officer – The American Chestnut Foundation, The Pennsylvania State University. The American chestnut (Castanea dentata) was once a primary component of many forests in the eastern US. In the 1800s, plant importation brought with it a devastating fungal disease that all but eliminated the American chestnut from its original range. There are around 430 million American chestnut trees in America however 84% of these are less than one inch in diameter, and this species is considered functionally extinct as it is unable to function effectively in the ecosystem. Researchers with The American Chestnut Foundation and affiliate organizations have been on the forefront to restore this species, exploring the many facets required for reintroduction of disease-resistant populations. The Appalachian forest ecosystem is vastly different now than it was over 100 years ago when American chestnut was often the dominant species of a stand. Invasive and exotic vegetation, introduced diseases and pests, ravenous and excessive deer herds, overdevelopment, and threats of climate change face a species made effectively dormant by introduced disease. Given all those hurdles, one might think working toward chestnut restoration is simply a setup for defeat. Luckily, current research suggests populations of American chestnut could be self-sustainable, despite changing pressures, within the next 50 – 100 years. See the presentation recording.
November 9, 2022 - Chef Sean Sherman, founder and CEO, The Sioux Chef; Co-founder of NĀTIFS (North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems) is a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe, and was born and raised in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. He presented on Indigenous foods and the history of Indigenous Knowledge of pre-colonial foods, knowledge lost as a result of American colonialism, and re-establishing Native foodways throughout North America. Chef Sean Sherman’s extensive studies on the foundations of Indigenous food systems have led to his deep understanding of what is needed to revitalize and showcase Native American cuisine in today's world. This includes understanding the ecoregions of North America combined with Native American language maps, plant knowledge, and sharing indigenous education about understanding how communities survived. The Sioux Chef team continues with their mission to help educate and make Indigenous foods more accessible to as many communities as possible through their non-profit arm, North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NĀTIFS) and the accompanying Indigenous Food Lab professional Indigenous kitchen and training center. Working to address the economic and health crises affecting Native communities by re-establishing Native foodways, NĀTIFS imagines a new North American food system that generates wealth and improves health in Native communities through food-related enterprises. See the recording [YouTube] of the presentation.
September 14, 2022 – Wesley Knapp, Chief Botanist, NatureServe, presented on plant extinction events and their prevention. Mr. Knapp provided an overview of known plant extinction events in the USA and Canada and some of the common causes of these extinctions. An extinction event is a conservation failure. Money for plant conservation is extremely limited and given the seemingly overwhelming number of At Risk (G1-G3) plant species in the United States conservation actions need to be highly prioritized to prevent extinction events. Mr. Knapp discussed new information and current efforts to detect or rebut an extinction hypothesis and an effort to identify plants of One Know Occurrence (OKOs) in the USA for priority ex situ and in situ conservation action. Sixty-four percent of all known plant extinctions were from species known from just one known occurrence. Despite this fact, no method exists to identify OKO plants, nor have they been prioritized at the National level for extinction prevention. The goal of this effort is to create a list of plant taxa that is considered extinct in the continental US and Canada. This information can then be used for conservation efforts and prevent future extinctions. View the presentation (part 1, part 2, part 3) [ppt] and recording [YouTube]. Read more about vascular plant extinction in the continental United States and Canada here.
July 13, 2022 - Dr. Murphy Westwood, Vice President of Science & Conservation at The Morton Arboretum, oversees numerous key programs and initiatives with the Center for Tree Science, the Chicago Region Trees Initiative, Global Tree Conservation Program, Global Conservation Consortium for Oak, and ArbNet. Dr. Westwood introduced the Global Tree Assessment project [web] and discussed the current state of trees native in the contiguous United States. Through a partnership with The Morton Arboretum, NatureServe, Botanic Gardens Conservation International-US, United States Botanic Garden, and the USDA Forest Service, the U.S. contribution to the Global Tree Assessment initiative now includes 881 species of trees, with 77 out of 269 tree genera having at least one threatened and/or at-risk species. In addition, improved data sharing between the IUCN Red List and NatureServe platforms facilitated updates to 563 IUCN species entries and 109 NatureServe species. About 96% of U.S. tree species have now been assessed on these two platforms giving us a clearer idea of rarity and threats. ICUN Red List assesses and ranks species risk of extinction [web] and provides this data to its users to inform conservation decisions. Similarly, NatureServe [web] is the source that evaluates the conservation status and extinction risk of North American species and ecosystems. View this presentation [ppt] and recording [YouTube]. Links to websites with information related to this presentation: The Morton Arboretum; Center for Tree Science; Chicago Region Trees Initiative, Global Tree Conservation Program; Global Conservation Consortium for Oak; ArbNet. See also the July 15 edition of the Washington Post for an article, Tree's decline feared to be a climate omen, which provides timely information about this important work.
May 11, 2022 - Dr. Sarah Truebe, Habitat Conservation Manager, Sky Island Alliance, discussed water, wildlife, and collaborative stewardship of the sky islands of the desert Southwest. The Southwest Sky Islands are mountain ranges that rise up from desert grasslands in portions of Arizona, New Mexico, and northern Mexico. This ecoregion is a biodiversity hotspot, with a large range in elevation and biotic influences from the Sonoran Desert, Rocky Mountains, Great Plains, Chihuahuan Desert, and Neotropics that provide a home to more than 4000+ native plants – many, endemics at the edge of their range, including Thurber’s bog orchid (Platanthera limosa), which was relocated in 2018 for the first time in over 100 years! The entire region is designated as critical habitat for endangered species such as the jaguar and other sensitive species. Among the biggest impacts to the ecosystem is the loss of an estimated ~90% of spring habitats that many rate and endemic plants and animals relay on, due to groundwater overdrafting, where groundwater use exceeds the amount of recharge. Development, grazing and trampling, mining, pollution, climate change, and invasive species are also threats. View the presentation [ppt] and recording [YouTube]. Find more information on the Sky Island Alliance [web] projects and programs, including the flora of the region.
March 9, 2022 - Dr. Katie Heineman, Vice President of Science and Conservation at the Center for Plant Conservation (CPC), is dedicated to improving access to biological data for plant conservation research and promoting synthetic research among botanical institutions. Her current research applies data science to plant collections records to develop smarter strategies for collections prioritization and to uncover patterns in rare plant storage behavior in seed banks. Sharing information and expertise provide invaluable platforms for the advancement of plant science. The CPC Rare Plant Academy is an online platform that integrates CPC’s Best Practice guidelines [web] with videos and online discourse. She also develops and maintains the web databases for the CPC National Collection and California Plant Rescue seed collections initiative. The CPC is a partnership of 10 botanical institutions in California. Together they work to conserve botanical diversity and prevent rare plant extinction in California. During their project period, species collection went from 9 new species to 94 new species collected per year. In 2014, 30% of California’s most rare plants were in collection. Currently, 75% of California’s rare species have been collected. These seeds can be used by land managers in future restoration. Watch the video here [YouTube].
January 12, 2022 - Dr. Alan Weakley, Director of the UNC-CH Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden and Adjunct Associate Professor, discussed the reasons for and implications of the rich and dynamic biodiversity patterns found in the Southeastern United States, information tools for finding biodiversity and for managing biodiversity of private and public lands. He explained the problem between the low publishing frequency of Floras and the high frequency of newly described endemics. A collaboration of botanical experts is seeking to reinvent Floras as a digital tool for citizen science and engagement, while addressing the ongoing problem of plant blindness, a concept that was introduced in the late 1990s as "the inability to see or notice the plants in one’s own environment." "Flora Manager" is a customizable database that provides a new foundation for the inventory and management of the region’s critical biodiversity. View the presentation and recording. Additional Resources: Download the Flora of the Southeastern United States; More information about plant blindness.
November 10, 2021 - Dr. Lauren Weisenberger, Botanist at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Pacific Islands Field Office, discussed the Hawaiʻi Plant Conservation Network known as Laukahi, under the umbrella of the Hawaiʻi Conservation Alliance Foundation. Established in 2014, this voluntary alliance of agencies, organizations, and individuals aims to protect Hawaiʻi’s plants and their ecosystems through coordinated conservation efforts outlined in the Hawai’i Strategy for Plant Conservation (HSPC), modeled after the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation. A growing number of HSPC partners are making great strides in achieving the five objectives and 20 targets. This presentation illustrates the significant accomplishments of this multi-faceted collaboration; the value of establishing metrics and gauging collaborative progress; the important need for and benefits of data sharing. An integrated database- dashboard being developed in collaboration with partners at Bishop Museum will be ready to launch by 2022 at laukahi.org. View the presentation and recording.
September 8, 2021- Mr. Sam Droege, USGS Wildlife Biologist at the Patuxent Wildlife Refuge Bee Lab, discussed the do's and dont's of native plant gardens from a specialist bee's perspective, with advice on navigating wildflower seed mixes, mulch types, and plants of interest to specialist bees. Unlike generalist bees, specialist bees have very specific native plant needs for food sources (nectar and pollen); see this article. Conservation efforts that address the plant needs for specialist bees will also benefit generalist bees--but not vice versa. The majority of the talk provided examples of plant groups that are beneficial to specialist bees. View the presentation and recording.
July 14, 2021- Dr. Ellen Damschen, Full Professor, University of Madison-Wisconsin, discussed her research on habitat corridors and native plant biodiversity, conducted over large spatial and temporal scales, including recent results from an 18-year study. While the importance of habitat connectivity is well known for animal species, its value to plant communities has largely been inferred. With study sites in tallgrass prairie, oak savanna, longleaf pine savanna, serpentine grasslands, and dolomite glade grasslands across the United States, her research has provided the first documented evidence that connectivity does increase the number of plant species. She further explores the roles of edge effects, isolation, and area on plant biodiversity, extinction, and colonization rates; differential impacts on bird- and wind-dispersed seeds; and positive correlations in species richness from the combined effects of connectivity and low-intensity fire in these fire-adapted ecosystems. The scale and time span for her work provides unique data to help determine drivers of species declines and strategies we can use to promote species persistence and recovery. Take-home messages: Conservation management based on area alone without considering connectivity will shortchange species richness; Restoration with seed additions promote establishment, persistence, and spread of desired plant species; Habitat connectivity and fire prevent species loss; Concurrent planning for connectivity and fire management enhances diversity and prevents species loss. View the presentation (part 1, part 2, part 3) and recording. Additional resources: A graphic cartoon of results from Dr. Damschen's 2019 paper, Conservation Corridor website.
May 12, 2021- Dr. Irish, Geneticist/Curator and Lead Scientist with the USDA-ARS Plant Germplasm Introduction and Testing Research Unit, described the nearly 20-year collaboration with the Bureau of Land Management's Seeds of Success (SOS) national native seed collection program that has resulted in the inclusion of 19,000 accessions corresponding to more than 4,300 species into the National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS). In assessing the NPGS SOS collections, Dr. Stephanie Greene, Supervisory Plant Physiologist, USDA-ARS National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation, found the holdings to be taxonomically diverse, representing 147 families, 1,001 genera, and 4,333 species, with collections from nearly every state in the contiguous United States. In addition to their importance in ecological restoration, many of these species are crop wild relatives with the potential for crop improvement. They are also valuable as ornamentals, food, fiber, forage, and medicine. The NPGS SOS collection and its associated information is preserved in long term storage and small quantities are distributed to scientists, plant breeders and educators. However, nearly 8,000 SOS accessions are not actively curated (i.e., regenerated when seed stocks are depleted or lose viability) due to resource constraints in infrastructure and personnel. Research is needed to develop protocols to efficiently genebank this germplasm, including genetic diversity assessments, germination, seed regeneration and storage. Enhanced partnerships and funding for the management, curation, and strategic development of wild plant taxa called for by the U.S. National Seed Strategy are integral to the conservation and availability of these ecologically diverse U.S. native plant germplasm. See the PowerPoint (Part 1, Part 2) and recording of the presentation.
March 10, 2021 - Dr. Thomas R. Easley, Assistant Dean of Community and Inclusion at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, spoke about Relationships, History, Hip-Hop, and Forestry. Easley provided an overview of how he uses hip-hop as a vehicle to discuss diversity in forestry, monitoring, and education, providing specific examples. See the PowerPoint and recording of the presentation
January 13, 2021 – Dr. Jared Margulies, Assistant Professor of Political Ecology in Department of Geography at the University of Alabama, spoke about Illicit succulent plant trade and pathways towards sustainability. His research explores environmental inequalities, human-nature relationships, and how contemporary social issues intersect with pressing environmental questions. The presentation described drivers and stereotypes of illegal trade in succulent plants, providing two case studies (Mexican-endemic Mammillaria bertholdii and U.S.-endemic Dudleya farinosa) that have been illegally harvested and traded to East Asian and Southeast Asian countries. View the presentation (Part 1, Part 2) and the recording.
November 18, 2020 – Ms. Alyssa Samoy, Natural Resources Specialist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs- Tribal Resilience Program and Chippewa Cree Tribe Member presented on BIA's programs that fund or inform native plant conservation. She began with a brief history of the BIA and its current organizational structure and then focused on various grants and programs, including the Tribal Resilience Program (TRP) and other BIA-funded tribal projects related to native plant restoration or Tribal education. Under the TRP, projects related to native plant conservation may be funded if they relate to the overarching tribal climate adaptation plan. Native plant conservation or invasive species should be outlined as key priorities of the tribe and add as one among other highlighted components stitched together as a cohesive plan by multiple tribal departments. View the presentation and the recording.
September 9, 2020 - Dr. Kayri Havens, Senior Director of Ecology and Conservation and Senior Scientist at Chicago Botanic Garden, spoke about Budburst, a national community science program that brings researchers, conservationists, and community citizen scientists together to focus on phenology--seasonal changes in plant life cycles and plant-animal interactions--to better understand how humans impact the environment. Scientists use phenological observations (e.g., when plants leaf out and bloom) to draw conclusions about how changes in climate will impact agricultural production, the relationships between plants and their pollinators, invasions of weedy species, and more. BudBurst allows people of all ages to engage in the scientific process and to contribute data in any of three ways through a web interface: 1) one time observations; annual life cycle observations; and special projects, such as "Budburst: Nativars" and "Milkweeds and Monarchs," collecting data on the interplay of plant phenology and plant-animal interactions. Extensive educational resources for all ages and learning contexts support this work and, since April 2020, new tools for public/private/home school educators to support students as part of formal science classes and for families looking for safe, outdoor activities during the COVID-19 pandemic -- after all, you can collect phenological data while keeping a safe distance from each other! View the presentation and the recording. Learn more about BudBurst or become a Budburst partner.
July 8, 2020 - Mr. David Lincicome, the Natural Heritage Program Manager with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Natural Areas, and chair of the steering committee for the Tennessee Plant Conservation Alliance, and Ms. Kristi Allen, Program Coordinator for the Pennsylvania Plant Conservation Network, shared information about state-level Plant Conservation Alliances and their efforts to coordinate with each other. Based upon the nationally recognized success of the Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance and the New England Plant Conservation Program, the Plant Conservation Alliance (PCA) model has now been adopted by other states, including Tennessee and Pennsylvania, to successfully implement at-risk plant conservation. A state-based PCA is a network of private and public entities that agree to work together to leverage expertise and resources for the common goal of conserving the state’s native plants and their habitats, using targeted conservation horticulture and habitat restoration. PCA’s emphasize an informal structure and building of trust for efficient communication of diverse scientific data and institutional perspectives. A major strength of the PCA model is the effective use of trained volunteers (Citizen Science) to perform conservation actions. Mr. Lincicome also describes efforts begun in late 2017 to increase communication among the coordinators of plant conservation alliances (PCA) or similar entities in the Southeast United States. These efforts have helped create a more cohesive and effective plant conservation network throughout the Southeast and beyond. See their presentations, Tennessee Plant Conservation Alliance and Pennsylvania Plant Conservation Network, and learn more about the Tennessee PCA.
May 13, 2020 - Ms. Katrina Outland, Deputy Prosecutor for Skagit County, Washington and former biologist, presented findings from her research on Venus flytrap poaching and the challenges of enforcing legal protections for plants. For some plants, poaching is a leading threat to their survival. Venus flytraps are one such species—they are endemic only to one small region on the planet and serve as easy cash for poachers selling to collectors or makers of fake health tonics. The presentation proposes a road map for more equitable distribution of punishment and for stronger protections for plants, with some examples of cases that used existing state laws and the Lacey Act to target illegal distributors of poached plants, and prospects for such examples to effectively protect the Venus flytrap. See the presentation and a recording of the presentation.
March 11, 2020 - Dr. Peter Marra, Director of the Georgetown Environmental Initiative (GEI), Laudato Si’ Professor in Biology and the Environment, and Professor in the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, summarized the results of his recent paper on bird loss and described several actions that are necessary for recovery including the role of native plants. Slowing the loss of biodiversity across terrestrial and marine biomes is perhaps the greatest conservation challenge we face as environmentalists in the 21st century. Over the past 150 years, vertebrate extinctions have been driven largely by habitat loss, overharvesting and invasive species, but the pervasiveness of current avian declines suggests multiple and interacting causes ranging from habitat loss and change to overharvesting to cat depredation, and identifying which of these factors drives population dynamics is complex and challenging. Dr. Marra’s presentation provides information through the plant species and habitat perspectives. See the publication, Decline of North American Avifauna (Science, Oct. 2019) and view his presentation or the recording.
January 8, 2020 - Dr. Kirk W. Davies, Lead Rangeland Scientist at the USDA Agricultural Research Service Unit at the Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center in Burns, OR., to presented "Collaboration and precision restoration to improve native plant restoration in arid ecosystems." He spoke about research to overcome some common barriers to successful restoration with native plant seeds, focusing on four experimental innovations in the early stages of development: 1) agglomeration - to facilitate seedling emergence through soil crust; 2) activated carbon pellet - to protect from herbicides used to decrease competition from invasive; 3) seed pillow- to promote seed/soil contact for germination; and 4) hydrophobic seed coat - to delay germination to the spring. View the presentation, published information on this topic, and address any questions to <kirk.davies @ ars.usda.gov>.
November 13, 2019 - Gerry Moore, the National Plant Data Team Lead for the US Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service, spoke about the genesis and future of the USDA PLANTS Database, which provides standardized information about the vascular plants, mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and lichens of the U.S. and its territories, including a section on PLANTS T&E which provides access to state and federally protected plant information. Gerry discussed the variations in rare plant protection from state to state (with some states having full legal protections and others having no legal protections for plants) as well as the regulatory, management, and rangewide implications of state-level determinations of native or non-native status. Download the presentation, a recording of the presentation, and The PLANTS Database.
September 11, 2019 - Kelly Rourke and Elizzabeth Kaufman of Pollinator Partnership discussed the Monarch Wings Across America Program, which began in Ohio in 2015 and has since grown into a 9-state monarch and imperiled pollinator conservation effort. MWAA is currently operating in AR, CA, IL, IN, MI, MO, OH, PA, and WI. Through first an ecoregional approach (Monarch Wings Across the Eastern Broadleaf Forest) followed by state-based boundaries (Project Wingspan), this program has engaged NGO and Federal partners, along with private volunteers, to rapidly increase habitat, native plant materials, and preferred land management practices for pollinators. So far, these collective efforts have impacted over 30,000 acres of pollinator habitat in the target areas. Learn more athttps://www.pollinator.org/monarch/mwaa.
July 10, 2019 - There was no speaker for this meeting and discussions centered on new efforts to develop a better mechanism for the National Seed Strategy progress-reporting and initial thoughts to revise the National Seed Strategy (post-2020), in addition to forging connections with the UN Decade of Restoration (that will launch in June 2021), updates on the Plant Performance Data Integration Project, and 2020 PCA speaker planning. The Oak Conservation Alliance and the National Academies of Sciences' Assessment of Native Seed Needs and Capacities were announced.
May 21, 2019 - Javier Robayo spoke about Foundacion EcoMinga and the facinating botanical diversity of Ecuador. ABSTRACT: Fundacion EcoMinga (EcoMinga Foundation in English) is an Ecuadorian foundation with international sponsors, dedicated to the conservation of the unique foothill forests, cloud forests, and alpine grasslands (“paramo”) of the Andes, especially those on the edge of the Amazon basin in east-central Ecuador and those on the super-wet western Andean slopes of the Choco region in northwest Ecuador. The foundation was established in Ecuador in 2006, under the statutes and supervision of the Ecuadorian Ministerio del Ambiente.
March 13, 2019 - Chris Martine (Bucknell University) presented Plants are Cool, Too: #SciComm, media relations, and a botanist on Mars. ABSTRACT: Using case studies based on recent attempts to promote new scientific findings through multiple types/tiers of media, this talk will present strategies that any biodiversity professional might employ when hoping to spread the word about (and engage the public in) their research outcomes. While taking on the job of promoting your own work might seem like a daunting (or even painful) task, the payoffs ideally include: a) Increased reads and/or citations; b) Expanding the reach and impact of your work; and d) Building public enthusiasm for biodiversity science/protection/conservation.
November 14, 2018 - the PCA welcomed Doug Tallamy, Mary Phillips, John Rowden, and Judy Venonsky as panelists (Moderated by Casey Sclar) on “Identifying and addressing information gaps in plant databases to support emerging planting design technologies promoting biodiversity and ecological benefits”. ABSTRACT: Technological advancements, including databases, websites, and intuitive parametric design apps, show great promise to assist landscape professionals and home gardeners alike with simplifying the planting design process. However, information gaps need to be addressed in order to optimize the emerging data tools, particularly when it comes to selecting the most useful and available plants to enhance ecosystem services and sustainable design. Much great work has already been achieved through development of the national databases of the Biota of North America Project (BONAP), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) PLANTS, NatureServe, and the Ecoregional Revegetation Application (ERA). This panel discussion will address the current plant databases available to algorithms and applications and what efforts are needed to ensure consistent and vetted data on ecologically beneficial plants is readily accessible to emerging technologies and the general public. See the presentation associated with this meeting here.
September 12, 2018 - Abby Meyer, Executive Director, Botanic Gardens Conservation International U.S., spoke about leveraging the garden community to complement and backup collections within and among institutions to close gaps and secure plant diversity for the future. This talk also discussed implementing The North American Botanic Garden Strategy for Plant Conservation and the ways garden staff can use information available to them to assess gaps and priorities for their own collections. Specific information about time and location of the talk will be posted at the end of August.
March 14, 2018 - Margaret O'Gorman - President of the Wildlife Habitat Council
January 10, 2018 - Jeannette Whitton, Director University of British Columbia Herbarium, Canada's SARA & COSEWIC
November 8, 2017 - Emily Sessa, University of Florida, Fern Conservation.
September 13, 2017 - Dwayne Estes, Director of the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative. You can find a copy of Dwayne's talk here.