II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4462 

To provide for the establishment of a National Interagency Seed and 

Restoration Center, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 5, 2024 

Ms. HIRONO introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To provide for the establishment of a National Interagency 

Seed and Restoration Center, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Interagency 

5 Seed and Restoration Center Establishment Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) CENTER.—The term ‘‘Center’’ means the 

9 National Interagency Seed and Restoration Center 

10 established under section 3(a)(1). 


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1 (2) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

2 means the Department of the Interior. 

3 (3) ECOREGION.—The term ‘‘ecoregion’’ means 

4 a land area varying in size and having a unified cli5 mate, geology, topography, soil, potential natural 

6 vegetation, and predominant land use. 

7 (4) FEDERAL INTERAGENCY PARTNER.—The 

8 term ‘‘Federal interagency partner’’ means— 

9 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture; 

10 (B) the Secretary of Transportation; and 

11 (C) the Secretary of Defense. 

12 (5) GENETICALLY APPROPRIATE.—The term 

13 ‘‘genetically appropriate plant’’, with respect to a 

14 plant, means— 

15 (A) a native plant species that is locally 

16 adapted to target site conditions, such as a 

17 plant with effective establishment, vigor, and 

18 reproductive capabilities; 

19 (B) a native plant species that is suffi20 ciently genetically diverse to respond and adapt 

21 to changing climate and environment condi22 tions; 

23 (C) a native plant species that is un24 likely— 


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1 (i) to cause genetic contamination; 

2 and 

3 (ii) to undermine— 

4 (I) local adaptations; 

5 (II) community interactions; and 

6 (III) the function of native spe7 cies within the ecosystem; 

8 (D) a plant that is not likely— 

9 (i) to become an invasive species; and 

10 (ii) to displace other native species; 

11 (E) a plant that is not likely to be a source 

12 of nonnative invasive pathogens; and 

13 (F) a plant that is likely to maintain crit14 ical connections with pollinators. 

15 (6) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

16 means any Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, na17 tion, pueblo, village, or community individually iden18 tified (including parenthetically) in the list published 

19 most recently as of the date of enactment of this Act 

20 pursuant to section 104 of the Federally Recognized 

21 Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131). 

22 (7) INVASIVE SPECIES.—The term ‘‘invasive 

23 species’’, with respect to a particular ecosystem, 

24 means a non-native organism, including the seed, 

25 spores, or other biological material of the organism, 


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1 the introduction of which causes or is likely to cause 

2 economic or environmental harm or harm to human, 

3 animal, or plant health. 

4 (8) LOCALLY ADAPTED.—The term ‘‘locally 

5 adapted’’, with respect to a plant, means a plant 

6 from an area geographically near a planting site that 

7 is environmentally adapted and likely to establish 

8 and persist. 

9 (9) NATIONAL SEED STRATEGY.—The term 

10 ‘‘National Seed Strategy’’ means— 

11 (A) the National Seed Strategy for Reha12 bilitation and Restoration 2015-2020; and 

13 (B) the National Seed Strategy Business 

14 Plan 2015-2020. 

15 (10) NATIVE HAWAIIAN ORGANIZATION.—The 

16 term ‘‘Native Hawaiian organization’’ has the mean17 ing given the term in section 2 of the Native Amer18 ican Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 

19 U.S.C. 3001). 

20 (11) NATIVE PLANT SPECIES.—The term ‘‘na21 tive plant species’’ means a plant species that occurs 

22 naturally in a particular region, State, Tribal land 

23 ecosystem, or habitat without direct or indirect 

24 human action. 


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1 (12) NOXIOUS WEED.—The term ‘‘noxious 

2 weed’’ means any plant or plant product that can di3 rectly or indirectly injure or cause damage to crops 

4 (including nursery stock or plant products), live5 stock, poultry, or other interests of agriculture, irri6 gation, navigation, the natural resources of the 

7 United States, public health, or the environment. 

8 (13) PLANT CONSERVATION ALLIANCE.—The 

9 term ‘‘Plant Conservation Alliance’’ means the pub10 lic-private collaboration established in 1994 among 

11 Federal agency members and non-Federal coopera12 tors that share the objective of protecting native 

13 plant species by ensuring that native plant species 

14 populations and communities are maintained, en15 hanced, and restored. 

16 (14) PLANT MATERIAL.—The term ‘‘plant ma17 terial’’ means a seed, spore, part of a plant, or whole 

18 plant, including seedlings and container stock. 

19 (15) PLANT MATERIAL SPECIALIST.—The term 

20 ‘‘plant material specialist’’ includes a plant ecologist, 

21 botanist, geneticist, seed scientist, or restoration 

22 practitioner or ecologist with relevant expertise, in23 cluding local, Indigenous, and traditional ecological 

24 knowledge, qualified to develop and recommend re25 vegetation, rehabilitation, and restoration plans, inVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:17 Jul 23, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4462.IS S4462

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1 cluding site preparation, species and source selec2 tion, and seeding and planting specifications and 

3 monitoring protocols. 

4 (16) REHABILITATION.—The term ‘‘rehabilita5 tion’’ means the reparation of ecosystem processes, 

6 productivity, and services based on functioning pre7 existing or existing ecosystems that allow for adapta8 tion of sites to specific current or future uses. 

9 (17) RESTORATION.—The term ‘‘restoration’’ 

10 means assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that 

11 has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed, including 

12 the reestablishment of the preexisting biotic integrity 

13 in terms of species composition and community 

14 structure. 

15 (18) REVEGETATION.—The term ‘‘revegeta16 tion’’ means the reestablishment of plants on a site. 

17 (19) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

18 means the Secretary of the Interior. 

19 (20) SEED TRANSFER GUIDELINES.—The term 

20 ‘‘seed transfer guidelines’’ means recommendations 

21 for protecting the integrity of the natural pattern of 

22 adaptive variation of wild populations by restricting 

23 seed transfers to areas within which seeds may be 

24 moved about freely with the expectation that the 

25 seeds would— 


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1 (A) grow and reproduce successfully; and 

2 (B) produce no adverse genetic effects. 

3 (21) TRIBAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Tribal land’’ 

4 means— 

5 (A) land located within the exterior bound6 aries of an Indian reservation; 

7 (B) land to which title is held by a depend8 ent Indian community; and 

9 (C) land held in trust for Native Hawai10 ians by the State of Hawaii pursuant to the 

11 Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920 (42 

12 Stat. 108, chapter 42) or section 4 of Public 

13 Law 86–3 (73 Stat. 5) (commonly known as 

14 the ‘‘Hawaii Statehood Admissions Act, 1959’’). 

15 SEC. 3. NATIONAL INTERAGENCY SEED AND RESTORATION 

16 CENTER. 

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coordina19 tion with the Federal interagency partners, the 

20 Plant Conservation Alliance, Indian Tribes, and Na21 tive Hawaiian organizations, shall establish a Na22 tional Interagency Seed and Restoration Center to 

23 provide leadership and oversight with respect to— 


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1 (A) the research, development, coordina2 tion, and distribution of native plant species; 

3 and 

4 (B) the conduct of ecological restoration, 

5 revegetation, and rehabilitation projects across 

6 ecoregions throughout the United States. 

7 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Center is to 

8 facilitate the national coordination of all aspects of 

9 native plant species plant materials development 

10 process, including ecological restoration, by— 

11 (A) enhancing research on— 

12 (i) the development and use of native 

13 plant seeds and native plants for native 

14 plant species community restoration, in15 cluding for use as food and medicine; 

16 (ii) the restoration of native plant spe17 cies communities— 

18 (I) in response to natural disas19 ters; or 

20 (II) as part of mitigation of nox21 ious weed and invasive species remov22 als or treatments to prevent and deter 

23 further invasion or for other purposes; 

24 (iii) the propagation and storage and 

25 distribution of native plant materials; and 


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1 (iv) any other research needs identi2 fied by the National Seed Strategy; 

3 (B) providing land managers with— 

4 (i) appropriate, locally adapted or ge5 netically appropriate plant materials in a 

6 timely, efficient, and cost-effective manner; 

7 and 

8 (ii) the guidance, tools, and training 

9 necessary for the reclamation, restoration, 

10 and rehabilitation of landscapes using na11 tive plant species; 

12 (C) creating resilient native plant species 

13 communities to withstand multiple uses and cli14 mate change; 

15 (D) enhancing interagency coordination to 

16 implement the National Seed Strategy through 

17 the Federal Committee of the Plant Conserva18 tion Alliance; and 

19 (E) coordinating shared use and enhance20 ment of infrastructure for native plant material 

21 development. 

22 (b) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—In coordinating activities of 

24 the Center with the Federal interagency partners, 


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1 the Center shall focus on the coordination of activi2 ties relating to— 

3 (A) wildland seed and plant material col4 lection and storage, including long-term 

5 germplasm or cryopreservation to preserve wild 

6 genomes; 

7 (B) native plant materials research, devel8 opment, and production; 

9 (C) providing ecoregional liaisons, includ10 ing agricultural producers and natural resource 

11 managers, with native plant materials; 

12 (D) the assessment, improvement, and de13 livery of incentive programs and risk manage14 ment tools to encourage production of native 

15 plant seed and native plant materials on private 

16 land and Tribal land; 

17 (E) the development and coordination of 

18 seed procurement mechanisms, such as forward 

19 contracting, blanket purchase agreements, or 

20 other procurement vehicles for seed production 

21 across ecoregions; 

22 (F) coordination with State seed testing 

23 and seed certification agency partners; 

24 (G) revegetation, restoration, and rehabili25 tation of landscapes and reporting results of the 


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1 revegetation, restoration, and rehabilitation to 

2 the Center; 

3 (H) fostering and improving communica4 tion, education, information sharing, and train5 ing, including any employment, training, or re6 lated services that serve Tribally determined 

7 goals consistent with the policy of self-deter8 mination; 

9 (I) information technology and geospatial 

10 coordination; 

11 (J) restoring native plant species commu12 nities critical to Indigenous foodways and Indig13 enous medicines pursuant to Tribal and Native 

14 Hawaiian organization direction; and 

15 (K) ensuring adequate budget and con16 tracting with respect to the conduct of activities 

17 described in subparagraphs (A) through (J). 

18 (2) EXISTING NETWORKS.—In coordinating ac19 tivities of the Center with the Federal interagency 

20 partners, the Secretary shall leverage programs and 

21 expertise through existing networks such as— 

22 (A) the Federal Committee of the Plant 

23 Conservation Alliance; 

24 (B) Plant Conservation Alliance non-Fed25 eral cooperators; 


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1 (C) the Bureau of Land Management 

2 Plant Conservation and Restoration Program 

3 and the interagency Ecoregional Native Plant 

4 Programs; 

5 (D) the United States Geological Survey 

6 Climate Adaptation Science Centers and Water 

7 Science Centers; 

8 (E) the Department of Agriculture Climate 

9 Hubs, Plant Materials Centers, and Germplasm 

10 Resources Information Network of the Depart11 ment of Agriculture; 

12 (F) the Indigenous SeedKeepers Network 

13 of the Native American Food Sovereignty Alli14 ance; 

15 (G) the National Academies of Sciences, 

16 Engineering, and Medicine; 

17 (H) the United States Fish and Wildlife 

18 Service National Seed Strategy Implementation 

19 Team and Center for Pollinator Conservation; 

20 (I) the Office of Wildland Fire of the De21 partment; and 

22 (J) the Inventory and Monitoring Net23 works, Invasive Plant Management Teams, and 

24 ecoregional plant hubs of the National Park 

25 Service. 


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1 (c) RESEARCH.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—To support the activities of 

3 the Center, the Secretary, in coordination with the 

4 Federal Committee of the Plant Conservation Alli5 ance and other Federal interagency partners, Native 

6 Hawaiian organizations, and Indian Tribes, shall 

7 support a robust and dedicated program of intra8 mural and extramural botanical science research 

9 that is relevant and appropriate to the native seed 

10 development process, including collection, germina11 tion, agricultural production, genetics, seed banking, 

12 seed storage, equipment for planting, distribution, 

13 and restoration techniques to support the land man14 agement responsibilities of the Federal Government. 

15 (2) AREAS OF EMPHASIS.—Research activities 

16 authorized under this subsection shall focus on the 

17 following: 

18 (A) Effective approaches to restoring eco19 systems that incorporate the use of appropriate 

20 locally adapted native plant materials. 

21 (B) Effective methods for developing— 

22 (i) locally adapted and genetically ap23 propriate native seed and plant materials; 

24 and 


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1 (ii) seed transfer guidelines for native 

2 plant species and land management activi3 ties. 

4 (C) Effective restoration strategies for 

5 using native seed and plant species— 

6 (i) to reduce— 

7 (I) the risk of wildfire; and 

8 (II) the likelihood of wildfire af9 fecting native ecosystems not adapted 

10 to fire; 

11 (ii) to manage invasive species and 

12 noxious weeds, including restoration activi13 ties to prevent reintroduction of invasive 

14 species; 

15 (iii) to rehabilitate, restore, and re16 vegetate ecosystems after catastrophic 

17 events, such as wildfires, flooding, drought 

18 events, or hurricanes; and 

19 (iv) to restore degraded native eco20 systems following habitat modification, 

21 such as hazardous substances releases or 

22 introduction of invasive species. 

23 (D) Effective methods to use native seed 

24 and native plant materials in response to the 


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1 impacts of long- and medium-term environ2 mental changes, such as changes in— 

3 (i) moisture levels; 

4 (ii) temperature; 

5 (iii) landscape fragmentation; 

6 (iv) invasive species; 

7 (v) human activity; and 

8 (vi) other features due to climate 

9 change. 

10 (E) Effective methods to use native seed 

11 and native plant materials to restore habitat 

12 and promote the recovery of threatened and en13 dangered native plant species and animal spe14 cies. 

15 (F) Economic or social issues relating to 

16 effective methods for collaborating with private 

17 and commercial sector partners to increase the 

18 availability of native plant material such as na19 tive seed grower incentives. 

20 (G) Restoration of native plant species 

21 communities critical to Indigenous foodways, 

22 Indigenous foods, and Indigenous medicines, in23 cluding the protection of intellectual property of 

24 Tribal and Indigenous seeds pursuant to Indig25 enous requests. 


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1 (H) Addressing the feasibility of seed 

2 banking and storage of native species— 

3 (i) to support ex situ collections; and 

4 (ii) to provide robust seed supply for 

5 habitat restoration. 

6 (I) Monitoring strategies for efficacy of 

7 treatment. 

8 (3) EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH.—As determined 

9 to be appropriate by the Secretary, in coordination 

10 with the Federal interagency partners, research con11 ducted under this subsection may be carried out 

12 through competitively awarded grants, contracts, 

13 contracts established under the Indian Self-Deter14 mination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 

15 5301 et seq.) or cooperative agreements, to be 

16 awarded in accordance with applicable requirements 

17 established by the Secretary. 

18 (d) USE OF EXISTING SEED INFRASTRUCTURE.— 

19 The Center shall coordinate the use of existing seed infra20 structure of the Department and the Department of Agri21 culture for the purpose of carrying out this Act. 

22 (e) ECOREGIONAL HUBS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coordina24 tion with the Federal interagency partners, Native 

25 Hawaiian organizations, and Indian Tribes, shall, 


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1 using and based on existing Bureau of Land Man2 agement Ecoregional Native Plant Programs, estab3 lish interagency ecoregional hubs available to each 

4 State and territory of the United States that consist 

5 of— 

6 (A) an Ecoregional Native Plant Coordi7 nator; 

8 (B) Tribal, Native Hawaiian organization, 

9 and other plant material specialists; 

10 (C) regional seed collection teams; 

11 (D) seed and plant material warehouses 

12 for local storage and seed cleaning facilities; 

13 (E) plant production centers; and 

14 (F) any other necessary subject matter ex15 perts placed at offices throughout the applicable 

16 region to support the ecoregional hub. 

17 (2) PURPOSES.—The purposes of an 

18 ecoregional hub are— 

19 (A) to assess the native plant material 

20 needs of the applicable ecoregion; and 

21 (B) to coordinate and facilitate the use of 

22 appropriate native plant materials in local res23 toration, rehabilitation, and reclamation 

24 projects. 


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1 (3) HIRING.—The Center may hire such staff 

2 as are necessary to carry out the duties of the 

3 ecoregional hubs. 

4 (f) OTHER PARTNERSHIPS.—The Center shall co5 ordinate with Indian Tribes, States, territories, units of 

6 local government, Alaska Native organizations, Native 

7 Hawaiian organizations, institutions of higher education, 

8 botanic gardens, and local stakeholders to assess, and pro9 vide expertise to address, local community revegetation, 

10 rehabilitation, and restoration needs. 

11 (g) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It shall be the policy 

12 of the Department and the Federal interagency partners 

13 that— 

14 (1) genetically appropriate plant materials shall 

15 be preferentially used for land revegetation, rehabili16 tation, and restoration; and 

17 (2) if the use of genetically appropriate plant 

18 materials is not feasible, as determined by the Sec19 retary or the Federal interagency partners, as appli20 cable, preference shall be given to the use of native 

21 plant species that meet the requirements of subpara22 graphs (C) and (D) of section 2(5). 

23 (h) ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES.—In addition to the co24 ordination and research activities otherwise authorized 


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1 under this section, the Center may carry out the following 

2 activities to develop and use native plant materials: 

3 (1) Identifying, evaluating, and protecting rare 

4 plants on public land managed by the Secretary and 

5 the Federal interagency partners. 

6 (2) Developing an understanding of the effects 

7 of human activity on native plant species and native 

8 plant species communities on public land managed 

9 by the Federal interagency partners. 

10 (3)(A) Supporting efforts to develop genetically 

11 appropriate and locally adapted native plant mate12 rials for restoring, rehabilitating, and revegetating 

13 ecosystems. 

14 (B) Monitoring the use and effectiveness of the 

15 plant materials developed under subparagraph (A). 

16 (4) Ensuring that the needs of the Department 

17 and the Federal interagency partners for native 

18 plant materials are met. 

19 (5) Supporting public-private partnerships to 

20 conduct research on the development of seed trans21 fer guidelines. 

22 (6) Supporting public-private partnerships to 

23 catalogue and store plant materials. 

24 (7) Coordinating a national network of seed 

25 cleaning facilities and seed storage warehouses. 


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1 (8) Implementing ecological restoration, reha2 bilitation, and revegetation on a landscape scale. 

3 (9) Supporting public-private efforts and volun4 teer efforts to support native plant species conserva5 tion. 

6 (10) Supporting and working with Indian 

7 Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations on efforts 

8 to restore native plant communities critical to Indig9 enous foodways, including edible and medicinal na10 tive plant species, and protecting Tribal intellectual 

11 property with respect to Indigenous seeds. 

12 (11) Providing technical assistance (including 

13 tools and training) on selection of appropriate plant 

14 materials used for restoration. 

15 (12) Supporting programs that provide finan16 cial and technical assistance and risk management 

17 tools for producers of native plant materials. 

18 (13) Facilitating native seed needs planning 

19 based on historic and project needs. 

20 (i) REPORTS.— 

21 (1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 

22 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec23 retary, in consultation with the Federal Committee 

24 of the Plant Conservation Alliance, shall submit to 

25 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of 


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1 the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources 

2 of the House of Representatives a report identi3 fying— 

4 (A) ecoregional needs and recommenda5 tions for the establishment of ecoregional hubs, 

6 including— 

7 (i) recommended locations; 

8 (ii) recommended service areas; 

9 (iii) recommended investments in na10 tive plant materials capacity, including 

11 workforce, infrastructure, and research to 

12 support hubs; and 

13 (iv) estimated budgets (including esti14 mated budgets for infrastructure and staff15 ing needs) to carry out this Act; 

16 (B) a list of partners for— 

17 (i) the Center; and 

18 (ii) each ecoregional hub established 

19 in accordance with subparagraph (A); and 

20 (C) scenarios requiring the use of plants 

21 that are not native. 

22 (2) ADDITIONAL REPORTS.—Not later than 5 

23 years after the date of enactment of this Act and 

24 every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary, in coordina25 tion with the Federal interagency partners, shall 


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1 submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

2 Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Nat3 ural Resources of the House of Representatives a re4 port identifying— 

5 (A) the adequacy of native seed inventories 

6 for post-disaster restoration, rehabilitation, and 

7 revegetation; 

8 (B) the adequacy of native seed collection, 

9 processing, and storage programs in light of 

10 current and anticipated post-disaster restora11 tion, rehabilitation, and revegetation needs; and 

12 (C) the adequacy of native seed and plant 

13 material capacity and distribution for post-dis14 aster restoration, rehabilitation, and revegeta15 tion. 

16 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

17 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

18 out this Act, including necessary infrastructure, 

19 $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029. 

Æ 


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