Forest Service Expands Restoration Contracts to Colleges and Tribes, Focusing on Native Seed Collection

The aptly named Seedlings for Sustainable Habitat Restoration Act of 2025 is a straightforward piece of legislation that updates how the U.S. Forest Service gets its hands dirty—literally—in ecosystem restoration. Essentially, it broadens the list of partners the Secretary of Agriculture can contract with to do essential cleanup and replanting work on federal lands. The key change is that the Forest Service can now sign contracts, grants, or agreements with State forestry agencies, local non-profits, Indian Tribes, and—crucially—colleges and universities (as defined by the Higher Education Act of 1965). The money spent through these agreements is explicitly authorized for collecting and maintaining native seeds and growing seedlings for replanting.

Who Gets to Plant the Trees?

Before this Act, the Forest Service had partners, but this bill makes it easier and more explicit for a wider, more specialized group to get involved in federal restoration projects. Think of it like this: If the government wants to restore a burn scar in a national forest, they often need very specific native plants to ensure the ecosystem actually recovers. Now, a Tribal government with deep, inherited knowledge of local flora or a state university’s botany department—which already has the labs and greenhouses—can more easily secure federal funding to do that specialized work. This is a big deal for those groups, as it opens up new revenue streams and leverages their expertise.

The Native Seed Economy

One of the most important, but least glamorous, aspects of this bill is its laser focus on native seeds. The text specifically authorizes funding for “collecting and maintaining native seeds” and the “production of seedlings.” Why is this important? Because you can’t just scatter whatever seeds you find and expect a healthy forest. Collecting the right local genetic material is critical for successful, resilient restoration. For the private or non-profit groups that specialize in native seed banking or propagation, this bill essentially guarantees a stronger market and clearer federal support for their highly specialized work. It’s a direct investment in the biological infrastructure needed to keep our forests and habitats healthy.

Tweaking the Collaborative Restoration Program

The Act also updates the existing Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program. This program is designed to bring multiple stakeholders together for large-scale, long-term restoration projects. The update ensures two things: first, that the seed collection and seedling production activities mentioned above are explicitly recognized as authorized activities within this program’s scope. Second, it formally lists institutions of higher education as eligible partners within this program. This means that if a massive, multi-year restoration project is planned, the local university can now easily join the collaborative table, bringing their research capacity and student labor directly into the federal project structure.