Vision

We inherited a world with a fabulously rich and diverse array of life, which is now under siege as never before in human history. Plant populations and species are being lost at vastly higher and accelerating rates than at any time since the dinosaurs became extinct, 65 million years ago. The human population recently reached 7 billion, having doubled in only about forty years. Combine that with our associated use of resources, and the rich web of life is getting a bit threadbare. Wild places are being destroyed, resulting in fragmentation of remaining habitat, with patches often resembling islands, isolated in a sea of urban or agricultural development. And now we must begin to consider the impact on biodiversity of global climate change.

Our vision:

The Rae Selling Berry Seed Bank & Plant Conservation Program is the primary off-site conservator of genetic resources of native plants of Oregon, ensuring the survival of threatened and endangered species and the availability of genetically appropriate seeds for restoring Pacific Northwest ecosystems.

To realize this vision, we seek to provide comprehensive off-site (ex situ) conservation resources in support of habitat-based (in situ) conservation efforts in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest, and to use our expertise in support of plant conservation regionally, nationally and globally.