Purpose of the Deschutes Basin Native Plant Seedbank

The purpose of the Native Plant Seedbank co-op group is to increase the abundance of native plants in Deschutes County, to gather their seeds and educate the public about the value of nurturing and using native plants in landscaping. A grant from the U.S. Forest Service has assisted the Seedbank in taking the initial steps towards establishment.

 

Local high desert sagebrush and forest lands have been seriously reduced through fires, noxious weeds and rapid land development in the County. Native plants need less water to live, grow easily in this climate and are better for the environment. Commercially available seeds are not native to this region and do not have the necessary genetics to grow successfully in Central Oregon's harsh environment.

 

The Native Seedbank plans to coordinate management, sale and inventory native seeds, build partnerships between Seedbank members and users of the seedbank and secure funding for the continuation of this work. Bluebunch wheatgrass and bottlebrush squirreltail grasses were chosen as the first native plants to collected seed from as part of the Seedbank project. Native seed became available for purchase by seedbank members and the general public in the fall of 2005.