TNC Celebrates Native Plant Month By Spotlighting New Native Seed Study And Empowering Community Restoration

As Wyoming’s landscapes face increasing pressure from invasive species, wildfire and habitat fragmentation, the Wyoming Chapter of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is celebrating Native Plant Month in Wyoming by spotlighting the recently published Wyoming Seed Strategy and elevating the work TNC is doing to empower local communities to restore Wyoming’s landscapes.

Native plants—or plant species adapted to Wyoming’s elevation, precipitation patterns and temperature extremes—are essential for restoring the state’s landscapes and the Sagebrush Sea across the West. These plants not only contribute to Wyoming’s iconic natural beauty but also support wildlife that depend on sagebrush ecosystems, as well as the Wyomingites who make their living from the land, including ranchers, outfitters and outdoor guides.

“Restoration isn’t just about putting plants in the ground—it’s about putting the right plants in the ground. Native plants give us the ability to rebuild resilient habitat that supports everything from sage‑grouse to pollinators to the communities who depend on healthy rangelands. But none of that is possible without the seeds first,” says Maggie Eshleman, restoration scientist at TNC. “We need people all over Wyoming to understand that native plants aren’t just beautiful, they’re necessary. They are better adapted to survive Wyoming’s harsh environment and help the landscape become more capable of withstanding disturbance. When we invest in planting native seeds, we’re giving the land what it needs to ensure future generations inherit landscapes that are just as vibrant and resilient as the ones we enjoy today.”

Recognizing the importance of native flora, Governor Mark Gordon recently designated April 2026 as Native Plant Month in Wyoming. At the national level, the U.S. Senate first passed a resolution establishing Native Plant Month in 2021 and has reaffirmed it annually. The designation encourages people across Wyoming to learn about the benefits of native plants and consider incorporating them into their own landscapes.

Native plants are increasingly threatened, however, and researchers have found that demand for native seed far exceeds supply in many parts of the state and region. Land managers and contractors in Wyoming often report that native seeds’ availability is a limiting factor to successful restoration, reclamation and rehabilitation. In 2022, The Nature Conservancy conducted a survey of seed users in the state to better understand the barriers to seed availability and use. Respondents across sectors identified two primary barriers: lack of availability and high cost of native seeds, both of which restrict the use of locally adapted species in restoration projects.

To address these challenges, a group of partners including TNC published the Wyoming Seed Strategy. The strategy’s vision is to build a seed market in Wyoming that provides high‑quality, genetically appropriate and diverse seed in sufficient quantities—supported by adequate processing and storage capacity—to meet the needs of land managers while ensuring economic stability for producers. The strategy outlines four primary goals:

1. Increase demand for genetically suitable seeds;
2. Improve the supply of genetically suitable seeds;
3. Improve the use of genetically suitable seeds; and
4. Pursue funding and external communication opportunities to emphasize the importance of native seed work in Wyoming.

TNC is a proud contributing author to the Wyoming Seed Strategy, along with our partners at the University of Wyoming, the Wyoming Department of Agriculture, Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, Wyoming Game & Fish Department, Wyoming State Forestry Division, Wyoming Department of Transportation, the Teton Conservation District, United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service, United States Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and The Institute for Applied Technology.

“There are many factors that make a native plant species a good fit for large-scale commercial production and restoration,” says Michaela Owens, Wyoming native plant scientist at TNC. “Because of the significant amount of time and resources that go into bringing a new species to market, it is imperative that we understand which species are well-suited for production and restoration before undertaking that endeavor. With our research we aim to weed out species that will not be successful and focus our efforts on ones that will have the greatest positive impact in restoration and provide economic opportunities for growers in our communities.”

To bridge the gap between research and production, the Wyoming Seed Partnership (WYSP) was formed to bring promising species into larger-scale production for reclamation and restoration projects in Wyoming. The partnership includes TNC, the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, The Institute for Applied Ecology and the Bureau of Land Management. Since its inception in 2024, WYSP has put three species of Wyoming origin into production for an 800-acre reclamation project in the Shirley Basin. They are actively looking for more partners and restoration projects to supply Wyoming native seed for.

In addition to contributing to the strategy and being a member of WYSP, TNC scientists in Wyoming are developing and testing solutions to the most pressing challenges facing native plants and working to empower local communities to participate in landscape restoration. At TNC’s seed lab in Lander, WY, scientists are working to understand seed germination of target species as a first step toward large-scale production. Additionally, they are testing species of interest in real-world restoration settings to identify which of these species perform well in the often-harsh environmental conditions found in post-fire and reclamation settings.

As part of this effort, TNC is developing a series of community workshops, including a Transplanting Workshop at Red Canyon Ranch in Lander, WY. Participants will tour the newly opened Native Seed Nursery. Through the Native Seed Nursery, TNC is testing native wildflowers in agricultural settings and documenting cultivation protocols for native seed producers, helping to strengthen the supply of native seeds for restoration.

Workshop attendees will learn about the importance of native plants from Shannon Kelly, TNC’s Wyoming native plants nursery manager, and other members of the native plant team. Participants will then help plant native plant seedlings in the field, gaining hands‑on experience in restoration and contributing to ongoing research on native plant success in Wyoming.

“Restoring Wyoming’s landscapes isn’t just the work of scientists and land managers—it’s something every community can be part of,” says Kelly. “When producers incorporate native species into pastures, field edges or rangeland restoration projects, they’re helping to sustain the working lands that define this place we all love and depend on.”

Members of the media interested in covering the community workshops should coordinate with TNC’s media contact.

For more information on the work that TNC is doing to restore native plants, visit our website.