Wildland collected seed is a very important part of the seed certification program in Utah. Research starting in the early 1900’s was sponsored by the USFS Great Basin Experimental Range and the UDWR Great Basin Research Center to improve big game winter habitat in degraded foothill rangelands in Central Utah. The wildland seed industry in Utah developed as a spinoff of this research to provide seed of various shrubs, grasses, and forbs found to be critical in restoring functional wildlife habitat not only in Central Utah but throughout the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau. Today wildland collection supplies a significant portion of the seed used in rangeland revegetation efforts in response to wildfires, and planned projects in response to sage grouse habitat improvement. Wildland collectors follow strict permitting and harvesting protocols on private, Federal and State lands.
Wildland collected seed can be certified through the UCIA Source Identified Seed program to label the state, county, and elevation of the species collected. This information is invaluable to public agency and private industry seed users in making sure seed is adapted to the revegetation site.
For application forms go to the FORMS and APPLICATIONS page.