Through a collaborative process involving USDA-ARS, the Forest Service1 (USDA-FS), the Natural Resources Conservation Services2 (USDA-NRCS), the Seeds of Success3 program, Canadian Forest Service4 (CFS), tribal governments, state agencies, and many other partners, a systematic plan† is being organized to conserve the range of genetically diverse ecotypes of North American Fraxinus currently represented in nature. We recognize that these efforts will require the involvement of many parties, including land-management agencies to be effective and are working to that end. Efforts are also underway in collaboration with the Morton Arboretum and the Beijing Botanic Garden to sample and obtain diverse populations of Fraxinus in China.
A list of collectors and their contact information, organized by state, is provided at the Contacts page.
It is our goal to create a comprehensive collection of Fraxinus populations within the US National Plant Germplasm System and to ensure that these collections are representative, well-documented, properly conserved, and made available to support research on Fraxinus, EAB and other pests and pathogens, to keep options open for the development of resistant ash trees and eventual restoration of ash to American forests and managed landscapes.
†Dr. Mark Widrlechner, who initiated this project, and his assistant, Jeff Carstens, presented a plan at the 20th USDA Interagency Research Forum on Invasive Species in Annapolis, MD, January 15, 2009. This slide presentation is entitled, "Developing a Coordinated Plan for Ash (Fraxinus) Seed Collection in North America." A more recent status report, entitled "Building A Comprehensive Collection of Ash Germplasm," was presented in June, 2010 to the 4th Global Botanic Gardens Congress in Dublin, Ireland. The slide presentation and paper are available here:
1Forest Service http://www.nsl.fs.fed.us/GeneticConservation_Ash.html
2Natural Resources Conservation Service http://www.mi.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/pmc.html
3Seeds of Success http://www.nps.gov/plants/sos/
4Canadian Forest Service http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/subsite/seedcentre/ashconservation
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