A Native Seed Field at Arches National Park Supplies Restoration in Southeast Utah

Restoring land after a wildfire or a construction project takes seed from the right plants, and wild native plants can supply only so much. At Arches National Park in southeast Utah, the National Park Service has answered that with a seed increase field: a patch of cultivated native plants whose seed is harvested year after year for restoration work across the region.

Native plants in bloom in the Arches seed increase field, which holds about 500 plants of 15 species important for restoring disturbed land in southeast Utah. National Park Service photo.

A field from disturbed ground

Park staff built the field in 2022 on ground already disturbed by construction of a new wastewater leach field for the visitor center. It is fenced and irrigated. The plants themselves are not harvested; they stay in place and produce seed season after season.

In 2023, staff harvested six pounds of native seed from thirteen species. Plants in the field include squirreltail grass, needle-and-thread grass, Indian ricegrass and Hopi blanketflower, all native to Arches and all foundational species of southwestern desert ecosystems.

Growing seed this way also spares the park's wild plants. Biologists no longer need to collect as much seed from wild populations, many of which have produced less seed in recent years.

What the 2024 funding bought

In fiscal year 2024 the park put money from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and from Burned Area Rehabilitation funding into expanding its native seed harvest. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law contribution came to $17,000. With it, Arches:

• added more plants within the field's existing footprint and upgraded the irrigation system;
• expanded its Weed Warriors/Seed Stewards volunteer program;
• bought a refrigerated storage unit to preserve harvested seed until it is needed; and
• paid for three pay periods of a biologist's time to maintain the field and its irrigation and to coordinate volunteers and harvests.

Image from the National Park Service's page.

Where the seed goes

Seed from the field is meant for restoring native ecosystems in southeast Utah and nearby areas after wildland fire, infrastructure projects and damage from visitors. It is also used to replant ground cleared of invasive species and land still recovering from grazing decades ago.

Though the project is young, the field has already supplied seed to Arches, Canyonlands and Capitol Reef national parks, and local Bureau of Land Management districts can draw on it when needed. The park notes that its seed is in demand for its adaptability to drier, warmer future climates.

The field has had one welcome side effect. Because it sits next to the visitor center, it draws attention, and the park now uses it to teach visitors about restoration and the importance of native plant communities.

Sources

• National Park Service, "Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Burned Area Rehabilitation funds support restoration of native plants in southeast Utah" (Arches National Park): https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/bil-bar-se-utah-plant-restoration.htm