Sage Steppe Native Seed Summit

Andrew Shields

The Oregon Native Seed Collective published the Oregon Native Seed Strategy in the spring of 2025. This guidance document is focused on ensuring the availability of ecologically appropriate native seed for restoration and conservation efforts in Oregon. It aims to coordinate and expand the state's native seed supply chain to address increasing environmental challenges and restoration demands, particularly in areas affected by wildfires.

The strategy emphasizes using the right seed in the right place at the right time to return Oregon lands to diverse, functional, and resilient ecosystems. 

SageCon Partnership in coordination with other members of the collective will host a regional seed summit this fall to provide coordination among partners to increase the pace and scale of restoration in Oregon’s sage steppe region by providing sources of native seed when and where they are needed.

Oregon Native Seed Strategy

Day 1: Summit Meeting

September 24, 10:00 am - 4:30 pm

Hollinshead Barn

1235 NE Jones Rd, Bend, OR

9:30 am - Doors open - Grab your coffee and get settled 

10:00 am- Keynote Presentation - Berta Youtie, Deschutes Basin Native Plant Seed Bank

  • Round robin- who is in the room and what they are working on related to Native Seed

  • Overview of Oregon Native Seed Strategy - Dani Marshall, ODA

  • Status of native seed production and use in Oregon’s sage steppe- Who is doing what? - Rachael Davee, SageCon Partnership

11:15 - 11:45 am - Coffee Break for Networking  

11:45 am - Oregon Restoration Growers Guild - Supporting seed hubs around Oregon  

  • Theory Behind Partnerships- Kathryn Prive, The Understory Initiative

  • Native seed Partnerships: Successes and Lessons learned - Alexis Larsen, IAE

  • Building a sage steppe hub 

1:00 pm - 2:00 pm - Lunch- provided with RSVP

2:00 pm - Breakout groups to discuss each goal of ONSS (Facilitators: Goal 1: Kathryn Prive, Goal 2: Jackie Cupples/Emmy Tyrrell, Goal 3: Alexis Larsen, Goal 4: Dani Marshall, Goal 5: Rachael Davee)  

  • Initial needs assessment of the objectives- Which objectives should be prioritized within each goal?  

  • What actions are ongoing vs. planned

  • What are the hurdles for working on or accomplishing the prioritized

    objectives

3:00 pm - Regional seed needs- Assessing supply and demand

  •  Develop a survey to better assess the need

  •  Securing grower buy-in 

3:45 pm – Producing a regional strategy

  • Building a regional target species list 

  • What is the current funding landscape?

4:15 pm – Wrap up

5:00 pm – Social at Worthy Brewery for more idea exchange

Day 2: Field Tour

Dry Fly Ranch, Terrebonne, OR

September 25, 9:00 am- 12:00 pm

  • Vision for Native Seed Farming in Central Oregon- Ryder Redfield, Dry Fly Management

  • Look at grow plots and storage, research – Matt Shinderman, Oregon State University

  • Specialized equipment and seed increase – Conrad Crawford, Dry Fly Management

Alexis Larsen, IAE

Register

Registration is free, but will be capped at 50. Please let us know if your plans change and you won’t be able to make it.