Seeds of Success Native Seed Collection Program
Seeds of Success (SOS) is the national native seed collection program, led by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in partnership with a variety of federal agencies and non-federal organizations. SOS’s mission is to collect wildland native seed for research, development, germplasm conservation, and ecosystem restoration. The long-term conservation outcome of the SOS program is to support the native plant materials development process, by which the BLM increases the quality and quantity of native plant materials available for restoring and supporting resilient ecosystems.
SOS teams share a common protocol and coordinate seed collecting and species targeting efforts. Ultimately, SOS aims to make at least 10-20 collections per species, per seed transfer zone. This ensures that the full range of genetic diversity is available for restoration and research such as common garden studies.
To date, SOS has more than 27,000 native seed collections in its National Collection. This material is being used for research such as germination trials, common garden studies, and growing protocol establishment. Additionally, these seeds, and those grown from them, are used for restoration projects such as endangered species habitat restoration, mining reclamation, and emergency stabilization and rehabilitation. Portions of each collection are also held in long-term storage facilities for conservation.
Seeds of Success was established in 2001 to collect, conserve, and develop native plant materials for stabilizing, rehabilitating, and restoring lands in the United States. The project quickly grew to include many additional federal and non-federal partners, such as botanic gardens, arboreta, zoos, and municipalities. In June of 2008, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the Bureau of Land Management, Chicago Botanic Garden, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, New England Wild Flower Society, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, North Carolina Botanical Garden, and the Zoological Society of San Diego. The 2008 MOU ratified Seeds of Success as a national native seed collection program in the United States coordinated by BLM. In 2023, BLM signed an interagency Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service. This MOU provides an opportunity for the three agencies to leverage expanded SOS funding and coordination to collect, conserve, and restore native plant communities across Department of Interior lands.
Getting Started with Seeds of Success 2025
Welcome to the Seeds of Success (SOS) program! SOS participants consist of federal employees and non-federal organizations under active SOS collection contracts and agreements with one of the SOS participating Agencies (BLM, NPS, USFWS).
Before the collection season begins, there are several tasks that must be completed to ensure SOS collectors and support staff have access to program communications, training, and data collection tools. Familiarize yourself with the Technical Protocol and other resources on this page and follow these steps at the beginning of each collection season. Access will only be granted for all active 2025 collectors, team managers, and support staff.
Ensure that your agency coordinator knows you are planning on collecting seed and submitting it for cleaning, storage, and tracking through the SOS program.
Agency Coordinators:
- BLM/National Coordinating Office - Sarah Hill, [email protected]
- NPS - Katie Vinzant, [email protected]
- USFWS - Kelly Thomas, [email protected]
To best protect our native plant populations, all SOS participants must sign the SOS Data Confidentiality Agreement. After signing, a copy will be emailed to you, and a copy of the agreement is also available as an appendix in the SOS Technical Protocol.
The 2025 Registration form allows active SOS participants to sign up for the monthly collector call and sign up for digital data collection access.
Monthly Collector Call
At least one person from every active collection team must attend the meeting. If the meeting falls during a time when the team is in the field, a call-in option is available. Collector calls are the first Tuesday of every month at 12 noon – Eastern, 11 am – Central, 10 am – Mountain, 9 am – Pacific, and 8am – Alaska.
GeoPlatform and Digital Data Collection access
All SOS data collection happens digitally through the SOS geoplatform using Survey123 and Field maps. Access will only be granted for all active 2025 collectors, team managers, and support staff. Users must sign up for access using the registration link below. Once users have completed the registration process, they will be added to a preseason group. After successfully completing the preseason activity, users will be added to their regional group and can begin reviewing and collecting data.
Notes from the collector call and regular communications are sent out over this email list. As a two-way list, you can also post articles, jobs, or questions to the group to try to crowd source solutions to seed collection questions. An archive of previous posts is also available.
Subscribe to the SOS email list (managed by Plant Conservation Alliance)
OR send an e-mail to [email protected] with the following information in the body of the message (not the subject): SUBSCRIBE. You will then receive an e-mail that you will need to reply to confirm your subscription. After you confirm your subscription, another e-mail will be sent with instructions on how to use the list.
Review the SOS Archives
Collectors and support staff must attend a training session hosted by the SOS National Coordinating Office. As the program has grown over the last few years some program elements have changed and attending a training is the best way to ensure all participants understand the SOS program. Three training types are available from the National Office, additional regional training is encouraged.
Knowing what species people plan on collecting, and corresponding collection size is an essential tool for the National Office when coordinating seed cleaning.
Download the Target Species template list from the right sidebar.
Keep in mind the following weight limits for collections.
The following genera will be limited to 5 lbs incoming weight:
- Achnatherum – all species except:
• A. hymenoides (no limit)
• A. lemmonii (no limit)
• A. speciosum (no limit) - Aristida – all species
- Bothriochloa - all species
- Bouteloua - all species
- Chilopsis linearis
- Gutierrezia - all species
- Hesperostipa – all species
- Muhlenbergia – all species
- Schizachyrium - all species
The follow species will be limited to 10 lbs incoming weight.
- Juniperus – all species
- Prosopsis glandulosa
