Forest Service Expands Contracts for Native Seed Collection and Seedling Growth Under New 2025 Restoration Act

The “Seedlings for Sustainable Habitat Restoration Act of 2025” is a targeted piece of legislation that essentially updates the Forest Service’s playbook for getting ecosystem restoration work done. Think of it as opening up the federal contracting process for conservation work to a much wider pool of talent, specifically targeting the crucial, but often overlooked, early stages of restoration.

This bill gives the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Forest Service, the green light to sign contracts, grants, or agreements with a significantly broader range of partners. Before, getting federal money for these projects could be restrictive. Now, state forestry agencies, local private nonprofits, colleges and universities, Indian Tribes, and multi-state groups are explicitly eligible to receive funding. The money must be used for two specific, foundational tasks: collecting and maintaining native seeds (including those from managed seed orchards) and growing the seedlings required for replanting.

Why Seeds and Seedlings Matter

If you’ve ever tried to grow a garden, you know that the quality of the seed determines the quality of the harvest. The same principle applies to massive ecosystem restoration efforts after wildfires or natural disasters. You can’t just drop any seeds; you need the right native species adapted to that specific environment. This bill recognizes that bottleneck and aims to fix it by funding the folks who are actually experts in seed banking and nursery operations. For example, a local university’s agricultural department or a specialized nonprofit that manages a native seed bank can now directly apply for grants to scale up their operations, ensuring the Forest Service has a reliable supply of the right genetic material when they need to replant thousands of acres.

Streamlining Restoration Funding

This act also cleans up the rules for the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP). The CFLRP is a major vehicle for funding large-scale, long-term restoration projects, but it wasn't always clear if money could be used for seed collection and growing seedlings. This bill eliminates that ambiguity by explicitly adding native seed collection, maintenance, and seedling growth as eligible activities under the CFLRP. This is a big deal because it means that when a large landscape restoration project gets funded, the critical step of securing the necessary plant material is automatically covered, rather than having to scramble for separate funding.

Furthermore, the bill formally adds institutions of higher education (universities and colleges) to the list of eligible partners under the CFLRP structure. This formal inclusion means the Forest Service can now more easily tap into the research, expertise, and facilities of academic institutions for these large-scale restoration projects. In practical terms, this could mean faster, more efficient restoration because the Forest Service can lean on a university’s advanced nursery facilities or genetic research labs to grow the exact seedlings needed for a resilient forest.