New Facilities for Housing and Curation of Seed Bank of Rare and Endangered Plants of the Northeastern United States

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A National Science Foundation grant has been awarded to New England Wild Flower Society, the nation's oldest plant conservation organization, to improve its Seed Bank of rare and endangered plants of the Northeastern US. The Seed Bank is a critical conservation resource that has been used to replace lost and declining populations of federally endangered and regionally rare plant species. The collection of live seeds will be moved to a newly built LEED-certified facility and the Seed Bank's infrastructure upgraded to meet current curatorial standards. This includes improved processing, storage, and testing equipment that will permit the collection to grow beyond its current capacity, and to better serve the plant conservation community.Seed banks for wild plant species are a last line of defense against extinction or extirpation due to climate and land-use changes. Because seeds of many plants may be kept viable indefinitely under optimum conditions, at low cost, and retrieved for propagation and reintroduction on demand, seed banks are among the most effective and economical conservation tools. New England Wild Flower Society's Seed Bank of rare and endangered plants of the Northeastern US, established in 1980, has been operative in restoring populations of federally endangered species. The proposed upgrades and expansion will enhance applied conservation efforts and promote research on rare plants.