This protocol outlines the procedures for making seed collections for Seeds of Success, part of the National Native Plant Materials Development Program.  The purpose of the Seeds of Success program in the United States is to establish a high quality, accurately identified and well documented native species seed collection at the population level.  All seed collections made following this protocol can be used to support development of geographically appropriate native plant materials for restoration and emergency fire rehabilitation.  Each seed collection should comprise of a significant representation of the genetic variation within the sampled population.  The collections act as a basis for off site (ex situ) conservation and, where and when appropriate, can be used for study and multiplication in the native plant materials development program for restoration purposes. 

The Bureau of Land Management and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank (http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/msbp/) are participating in the Seeds of Success (SOS) program under the terms of a cooperative agreement signed by both parties in May 2000, with a renewed agreement signed in November 2005.  Since the original signing of the agreement, SOS has grown to include: Chicago Botanic Garden; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center; New England Wild Flower Society and New York Department of Parks and Recreation, Greenbelt Native Plant Center; North Carolina Botanic Garden; and the Zoological Society of San Diego.  This group is collectively referred to as the SOS Partners.

SOS Partners have agreed to collect seeds for the program and grant access to the lands they manage for collection; grant prior informed consent to RBG, Kew for study and long term storage of seeds collected under the program; send the first collection of a species, vouchers and field data to RBG, Kew for processing; and send an itemized species list in the Notification of Transfer (Appendix 3) with seeds and herbarium voucher specimens.  RBG, Kew agreed to clean, process, test, develop germination protocols, and store all seed sent by BLM and perform some or most of these duties for all the SOS Partners; send half of each collection to the US for long term storage; provide the results of all testing to the collecting partners and the SOS National Coordinating Office; fund a fixed term coordinator position in BLM-National Coordinating Office to develop the collection program; and provide training and advice during the program.

The goal of SOS is to provide wild collected seeds to researchers for common garden studies and other native plant materials development projects.  Estimates have shown that between ten and twenty collections of a single species, across its range, are needed to develop genetically appropriate ecotypes.  Because only one sample of each species, regardless of variety or subspecies, can be sent to RBG, Kew, additional processing and storage partnerships have been formed to achieve the program’s goal of native plant materials development.  Additional collections of species can be collected throughout their range by any collecting group and used as part of the National Native Plant Materials Development Program. 

Since 2003, BLM has been cooperating with the US Forest Service Seed Extractory in Bend, Oregon for cleaning and storing restoration seed collected by BLM Field or State Offices that are also sending seed to Kew.  Procedures for storing additional collections made by SOS Partners of species already stored at RBG, Kew are being developed, however all collection data for such species will be sent to the SOS National Coordinating Office regardless of storage facility.