The Berry Botanic Garden | Conservation

Established, with grants from the Meyer Memorial Trust, the first seed bank in the U.S. to conserve endangered plants of an entire region (the Pacific Northwest). The Seed Bank currently holds millions of seeds in more than 10,000 accessions of over 300 rare plants from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada and northern California.

Charter Participating Institution, CPC 1985

Became charter Participating Institution in the Center for Plant Conservation (CPC), a national conservation organization based at the Missouri Botanical Garden dedicated to using botanic garden resources to conserve endangered plants of the United States.

Community Programs, 1990-Present

Began community service cooperative programs as a major education and horticultural priority. Projects have included:
· working with the Friends of Timberline and US Forest Service to re-landscape the WPA-era Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood with native vegetation and to create an indoor interpretive display.
· creating a puppet show and related educational materials on nurse logs, "The Rotten Log," in cooperation with the Hoyt Arboretum and the Leach Botanical Garden (Metro Greenspaces Program).
· bringing volunteers and students to the Gifford Pinchot National Forest to work on "Partners for Plants," a program to study and enhance botanical diversity in cooperation with the US Forest Service. This program was offered as a class "Botanical Field Studies" for students and teachers through Portland State University.
· creating an educational garden area with interpretive labels for Washington's Woods Creek Watchable Wildlife Area in 1999, in cooperation with the US Forest Service and the Illahee Garden Club.
· providing a workshop in southern Oregon to train community members in native plant seed collection techniques.

Seed Vault Constructed, 1994

Constructed the first U.S.-based Seed Vault, a fireproof, temperature and humidity controlled chamber, to store the Seed Bank. Grants came from the Meyer Memorial Trust (basic construction), Collins Foundation (vault interior and climate control), the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) for storage improvement, and many small gifts.

Co-sponsor of "Strategies for Survival," 1999

Cosponsored the international conference, "Strategies for Survival: Ex Situ Conservation," with the Chicago Botanic Garden, the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew and the Center for Plant Conservation. This conference formed the basis for the book Ex Situ Plant Conservation: Supporting Species Survival in the Wild, published in 2004 by Island Press.

61 Rare Plants Summarized for CPC Site, 2002

We summarized the known scientific information on 61 rare plants we house at BBG as part of the Center for Plant Conservation's National Collection. Plant profiles for each species can be viewed on the CPC's website. Funding for this project was provided by a grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services obtained and coordinated by the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Field Work and Lab Studies, 1985-present

Provided field work or laboratory studies on the following projects for rare and endangered species. Funding sources in parentheses.

· 1985-1990, 2007. Propagation and experimental reintroduction of Oregon's rarest plant, the Malheur wire-lettuce, Stephanomeria malheurensis. (Bureau of Land Management)

· 1985-1995. Rescue, propagation and reintroduction of Barrett's penstemon, Penstemon barrettiae, at the locks of Bonneville Dam. (US Army Corps of Engineers)

· 1990-1992. Genetic studies and electrophoresis of Gentner's mission bells, Fritillaria gentneri. (Oregon Department of Agriculture)

· 1991-1992. Seed germination studies of the wayside aster, Aster vialis. (Bureau of Land Management)

· 1991-1992. Seed storage and propagation/distribution of endangered population of the western dogwood, Cornus nuttallii. (Idaho Department of Fish & Game)

· 1991-1996. Population demographic studies of declining wild population of the elegant fawn lily, Erythronium elegans. (US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management)

· 1992-2007. Soil seed bank studies of Peck's penstemon, Penstemon peckii, in natural habitats of the central Cascade Mountains. (US Forest Service)

· 1994-1996. Population field studies of the frigid shooting star, Dodecatheon austrofrigidum. (Bureau of Land Management)

· 1994. Field survey for a carnivorous plant known as the intermediate bladderwort, Utricularia intermedia, on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. (US Forest Service)

· 1994-2007. Seed storage, tissue culture and experimental reintroduction of the Western Lily, Lilium occidentale. (Bureau of Land Management)

· 1995. Field surveys for the golden chinquapin, Chrysolepis chrysophylla, and Herr's golden hairstreak butterfly, Habrodais grunus herri, on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. (US Forest Service)

· 1995-1996. Annual plant model. Statistical studies and computer model of reproduction in endangered plants with an annual life habit. (Bureau of Land Management)

· 1995-2000. Partial demographic studies of pale blue-eyed grass, Sisyrinchium sarmentosum, on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. (US Forest Service)

· 1995-1998. Germination and propagation studies of Castilleja chlorotica. (US Forest Service)

· 1996-1997. Preparation of national recovery plan for the federally endangered Western Lily, Lilium occidentale. (US Fish & Wildlife Service)

· 1996-1997 and 2002-2003. Collection and storage of seeds of rare and endangered plant species from the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. (US Forest Service)

· 1997. Multi-population modeling and statistical analyses of a population study of the pumice moonwort, Botrychium pumicola. (US Forest Service)

· 1997, 1998, 2003, 2006. Monitoring and analyses of a population of the federally threatened Nelson's checker mallow, Sidalcea nelsoniana. (US Forest Service)

· 1998-2001. Tissue culture and reproductive studies of Cypridium montanum. (Bureau of Land Management)

· 1999-2000. Seed collection and storage of rare and endangered plants from southern Idaho. (Bureau of Land Management)

· 1999-2001. Statistical analyses of an experimental reintroduction of the federally endangered Malheur wire lettuce, Stephanomeria malheurensis. (Bureau of Land Management)

· 1999-2003. Seed collection and storage of rare plant species from Forest Service lands in Oregon and Washington. (US Forest Service)

· 1999-2001. Storage of seeds of rare species from the Cottonwood Natural Resource Area, Idaho. (Bureau of Land Management)

· 1999-2002. Consultant on the development of reintroduction plans for 28 extremely endangered species as part of the Makua Implementation Team, with the US Army, State of Hawaii and The Nature Conservancy, Oahu Hawaii. (US Army)

· 2000. Tissue culture and seed propagation research on the federally threatened MacFarlane's four-o'clock, Mirabilis macfarlanei. (Bureau of Land Management)

· 2000-2003. Seed collection and storage of Howell's thelypody, Thelypodium howellii ssp. spectabilis. (US Fish & Wildlife Service)

· 2001. Seed collecting, storage and germination research on rare taxa from the Burns district, Oregon (BLM).

· 2001-2007. Experimental reintroduction of Arabis koehleri var. koehleri. (Bureau of Land Management)

· 2001. Study to examine the abundace of weeds at the Cave Creek pale blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium sarmentosum) pupulation in Washington. (US Forest Service)

· 2004-2007. Research examining possible hybridization in the wild of pale blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium sarmentosum) and Idaho blue-eyed grass (S. idahoense): morphology, reproductive success and molecular genetics. (US Forest Service)

· 2004. Seed collection and storage for rare taxa from Tiller Ranger District, Umpqua National Forest. (US Forest Service)

· 2004. Seed storage of northern wormwood Artemisia campestrisssp. borealis var. wormskioldii) from Washington. (Grant County PUD)

· 2004-2005. Seed collection and storage of rare legume species from Oregon, Washington and Idaho. (USDA Agricultural Research Service)

· 2005-2007. Propagation studies, seed storage and exeprimental reintroduction of Umpqua mariposa lily (Calochortus umpquaensis) in southern Oregon. (US Forest Service)

· 2006. Review of Conservation Assessment for pale blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium sarmentosum). (US Forest Service)

· 2006-2007. Development of a long-term monitoring design and assistance with field pilot study examining the possibile impacts of cattle on pumice moonwort (Botrychium pumicola) in central Oregon. (US Forest Service)

· 2006-2007. Seed germination and propagation studies of Lassic's lupine (Lupinus constancei): Does adding native soil microflora make a difference? (US Fish and Wildlife Service)

· 2006-2007. Experimental reintroduction of the threatened Macfarlane's four-o'clock. (US Forest Service)

· 2007. Seed storage of salmon twin bladderpod (Physaria didymocarpa var. lyrata) from Idaho. (Bureau of Land Management)

Seed Germination Research

· 1992-1995. Seed germination studies for a vast lowland prairie restoration in West Eugene, Oregon, a cooperative project with of the City of Eugene, the Bureau of Land Management, the US Army Corps of Engineers, Lewis and Clark College, and The Nature Conservancy. (Bureau of Land Management)

· 2000-2003. Seed germination and other research on over 100 plant species native to Portland, Oregon. (City of Portland's Watershed Revegetation Program, Bureau of Environmental Services)

· 2002-2007. Seed germination and storage research on up to 26 plant species native to the Western United States. (Bureau of Land Management and CPC)

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The Berry Botanic Garden 11505 SW Summerville Avenue Portland, Oregon 97219 503.636.4112

bbg@berrybot.org