Sources of native materials

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or exotic-plant management actions.

The Intermountain Region of the NPS consists of 89 park units (10 million

acres) within eight states: Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico,

Arizona, Oklahoma, and Texas. Acreage within the Intermountain Region

"targeted" for restoration and weed management activities is equal to nearly

800,000 acres under the 20012005 Strategic Plan.

Policies and guidelines. Because the NPS is a Congressionally mandated

preservation agency, it is required by some very specific policies and guidelines

to maintain biological and genetic diversity within the parks. NPS "Management

Policies" (2001) and Vegetation Management Guidelines (NPS-77, currently

under revision) are the main documents that provide parks with direction and

formal policy guidance in addressing vegetation and weed management and

disturbed-land restoration issues. The newly revised "Management Policies"

(2001) for the first time contains a section especially directed at "Restoration

of Natural Systems." This section specifically states that "The NPS will strive to

protect the full range of genetic types of native plant and animal populations in

the parks by perpetuating natural evolutionary processes and minimizing human

interference with evolving genetic diversity."

Sources of native materials. The guidance further specifies a process for

considering the sources for native vegetation materials to be used in restoration

or revegetation activities. Plants should be taken from populations as closely

related as possible both genetically and ecologically to the area to be restored,

using the following priority:

Same site

Adjacent site

Within park

Local (external to park)

Regional (within same eco-region).

Use of cultivars of native species is not currently restricted by NPS policy,

but is more or less discouraged and considered as a "last resort" and may become

restricted in the future.

NPS concerns on the use of cultivars are related to potential impacts to bio-

diversity at both the genetic and species levels. At the genetic level, the NPS

wants to avoid the potential of diluting or possibly eliminating historic native

genotypes within the parks. At the species level, cultivars are often selected for