About the Great Basin Plant Materials Center

Updated 08/25/2008

The Great Basin Plant Materials Center, located in Fallon, Nevada, is the newest plant materials center, bringing the number of PMC’s nationwide to 27.  The Great Basin Plant Materials Center Service Area covers approximately 139,000 square miles, almost 89 million acres, in four states: Nevada, Oregon, California, and Utah. 

The Great Basin is facing a serious crisis. The ravages of wildfire, invasive weeds, and severe drought have left the region on the verge of severe environmental degradation. The Great Basin PMC will be a source for plant materials, particularly native species, that are adapted to the harsh regional conditions found in the Great Basin. The PMC will develop native plants for the low precipitation and high salinity zones found in the Great Basin, and conduct range plant research.

Collaborators include:

• University of Nevada, Reno, College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources
• USDI Bureau of Land Management
• Nevada Department of Agriculture
• USDA Forest Service
• Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station
• Nevada Division of Forestry
• private landowners
• and many others.

The Great Basin PMC will:

• Develop plant materials for vegetating non-cropland areas.
• Develop technology for improved reclamation success.
• Communicate seed production information needed for seed growers.
• Develop a foundation seed source to meet restoration needs.
• Work closely with cooperators to monitor the success and impacts of real-life plantings in the wild.
• Develop alternative, low-water-using crops.

Getting to the Great Basin Plant Materials Center

The PMC is located on the University of Nevada’s Agricultural Experiment Station Newlands Field Laboratory in Fallon, Nevada. From the intersection of Williams (Hwy. 50) and Taylor (Hwy. 95) in the center of Fallon, turn south. Go approx. 1.5 miles.  The PMC is near the SE corner of the intersection at Taylor (Hwy 95) and Wildes Road (Hwy. 118).

Your contact is Liz Warner, NRCS public affairs specialist, at 775-857-8500 ext. 105.

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