“The use of locally adapted native plants can improve restoration success. These plants have adapted to these harsh conditions and are well suited to not only survive, but also to support a healthy functioning ecosystem, providing habitat for wildlife and pollinators alike.”
Restoring Land with Native Nevada Plants
The Conservancy’s restoration work requires a large amount of plant material to accomplish our restoration goals. Historically, native species have not been widely available, and while this is changing, plant material that is well adapted to the dry conditions of the Walker Basin is still commercially scarce. This was addressed by developing a Native Plant Nursery and Native Seed Initiative, with the objective to first supply appropriate plant materials for our land stewardship projects. And then to provide plant material that is well adapted to arid conditions across the Great Basin for other restoration projects that are addressing large-scale disturbances like wildfires and the introduction of non-natives. All of this work is guided by conservation science and monitoring to ensure the greatest positive impact on our local landscape.
Plants grown from Seed per year (2022 Projected)
Container plant grow-outs
At our nursery, we specialize in growing native plants of the Walker Basin and surrounding areas.
Learn More
We primarily focus on producing container stock for our own restoration projects, and we regularly work with 15 different species of plants for these projects. We have also grown an additional 25 species for garden installations and our Native Seed Initiative. Our nursery has produced over 100,000 plants since its inception, and we have the capacity to produce 60,000 plants each year.
Propagation trials
For many of our species, we must conduct trials and experiment with different seed treatments and growing techniques before we see success
Learn More
Our nursery team works to pioneer and improve methods for propagating the native plants of the Walker Basin. Unlike cultivated plants, which humans have bred and studied for hundreds of years, uncultivated native plants retain many natural qualities that help them survive in the wild but make them more challenging to grow.
We often look to the natural conditions that the plants experience to determine what methods we choose. For example, native willows grow well from cuttings, because these riparian plants are adapted to flooding events that break off branches and carry them downriver, where the branches get deposited into the streambank and eventually grow into new trees.
Native seed initiative
Our Native Seed Initiative works to address the need for climate appropriate seeds and plants by developing our own seed farm and collaborating with local stakeholders.