Ecosource Native Seed and Restoration

Malheur, Harney, and Grant Counties
Request: $75,000

Eastern Oregon’s unprecedented wildfire impacts have created an urgent need for specialized expertise to understand what these fires have done to our landscapes and what successful recovery will require. EcoSource has established native-seed and restoration capacity, but we do not currently have dedicated wildfire ecology expertise to assess burned landscapes, identify restoration priorities, evaluate invasive-species threats, and translate those findings into native plant-material needs. This knowledge is also essential as we work to engage agricultural producers in growing native seed; we must understand what our landscapes need before we can responsibly guide future production. EcoSource is seeking funding for a staff or contract employee, and has identified Trey Wall, an experienced local wildland fire and natural-resources professional, to provide this critical capacity.

EcoSource is actively pursuing complementary funding and partnerships to build this wildfire and restoration capacity. We are currently preparing a BLM grant application that includes funding for approximately 25% of Trey Wall’s wages; that funding has not yet been awarded. EcoSource also has established working relationships with the Burns Paiute Tribe, Harney Soil & Water Conservation District, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, and Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Station that support our broader native seed, restoration, research, and land-management work. Trey’s existing regional and interagency experience would allow this position to strengthen and expand those collaborative efforts.