CSBR: RAPID: Ownership Transfer: Moving the University of Louisiana-Monroe herbarium to the Botanical Research Institute of Texas

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An award is made to the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT) for moving the University of Louisiana-Monroe (ULM) herbarium to BRIT. This collection consists of an estimated 472,000 plant specimens, making it the largest herbarium in Louisiana, and among the largest in the Southeastern U.S. In early 2017, the ULM administration determined that the university could no longer support the collection and that it would need to be relocated. The ULM collection will join the approximately one million specimens already in BRIT's herbarium where they would be housed in climate-controlled conditions to preserve them for scientific research. This award will ensure that the ULM collection is safely transferred and cared for. BRIT will collaborate with staff at the Louisiana State University Herbarium (LSU) to select approximately 60,000 specimens that will be returned to Louisiana and housed at the LSU Herbarium. The ULM specimens document the natural heritage of Louisiana and surrounding regions and can provide valuable insight into understanding critical issues affecting the region, including extreme weather, land subsidence, wetlands loss, and ocean acidification. By preserving the collection at BRIT and repatriating selected specimens to LSU, the project will ensure that the specimens remain available to scientists, resource managers, and students for generations to come. The estimated 472,000 plant specimens at the ULM herbarium constitute an expansive resource documenting more than 99% of the vascular flora of Louisiana. To rescue this valuable collection from destruction, BRIT will transport 336 herbarium cabinets in trailers equipped with freezers capable of reaching -29°C, sufficiently cold to eradicate any insect pests. The BRIT herbarium will retain the majority of collections in a self-contained building, with climate controlled to 18°C and 55% relative humidity. Any necessary cabinet and specimen repairs will be conducted, and specimens inventoried. BRIT will serve as a staging facility to repatriate a synoptic set of specimens to Louisiana State University (LSU) that will address geographic, conservation, and taxonomic gaps in holdings at LSU and other Louisiana herbaria. Any other duplicates will be sent to other herbaria on exchange, with priority to herbaria of the southeastern U.S. Copies of all image files and specimen metadata will be given to BRIT for incorporation into their specimen data digital repository. The project will ensure that this collection can continue to serve as an invaluable resource for floristic knowledge of Louisiana.