July 10, 2002

Debby Cole,
Society for Pacific Coast Native Iris
7417 92^nd Place SE
Mercer Island, WA 98040-5807

Dear Ms. Cole,

I am writing in response to your call for wild-collected seed in the Spring, 2002 Almanac. Your list of desired species includes three species currently listed as rare by the California Native Plant Society: Iris tenax ssp. klamathensis is listed as CNPS 4 (Plants of limited distribution - a watch list), and I. munzii and I. hartwegii ssp. columbiana are each listed as CNPS 1B (Plants rare, threatened, or endangered in California and elsewhere). These CNPS 1B species are of particular concern.

On public lands, these plants are protected under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and proper permits are required for collection of these plants and their propagules. Collecting on all federal lands requires a permit, regardless of status. On private lands, permits are not required, but certain ethical collecting practices should be followed. For example, seed should only be collected in small quantities (no more than 10% of entire crop), and only if sufficient seed will be left to repopulate natural populations.

Please consider making a note in your next Almanac encouraging your members to refrain from overharvesting propagules from rare plant populations. Perhaps for certain rare species, seeds can be preferentially collected from plants in your members' gardens instead of wild populations.

When collecting propagules from wild populations, please remind your members to research the current conservation status of the species and obtain the proper collecting permits. Information about laws pertaining to plants is available from your state's natural resources department, and data concerning the conservation status of plants are available from the state Natural Heritage Program, or their equivalents. In California, The CNPS Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants is an excellent, regularly updated resource.

Kind regards,

Carol J. Bornstein
Director of Horticulture