The Wildland Seed Harvesting Program is a collaboration between Ciudad, Valencia, Coronado, and Socorro Soil and Water Conservation Districts and Rio Grande Return. 

To address the shortage of locally adapted native plant seeds for soil conservation and habitat restoration in the Middle Rio Grande we are engaging private landowners in inventorying native plant populations and collecting their wildland seed. 

Landowners will be compensated for their participation.

Ciudad SWCD is seeking assistance from private landowners who are interested in having wildland seed collected from their properties.  Private landowners will be compensated for seed collection!  Interested Landowners should complete the Landowner Application form below.

Ciudad SWCD’s contractor and partner, Rio Grande Return, will conduct an initial visit, count the population, then track species for maturity and will mobilize at the right time to harvest the seeds. Rio Grande Return will tailor equipment to various private land and species of seeds that need to be harvested. Equipment and the method of removal may include manual seed collection (hand stripping select seed heads), hand-held seed harvester, and/ or pull-behind hydraulic seed stripper. Equipment does drive over the vegetation, but the seed collection happens by stripping only the seedheads. The rest of the vegetative parts are not cut or damaged. Collected seed will be gathered in tarps and collection sacks. 

 

Online Landowner Application 

Wildland Seed Harvesting Program Landowner Application - Google Forms