2005 Annual Report 4d.Progress report. This report serves to document research conducted under a reimbursable agreement between ARS and the Bureau of Land Management. Additional details of research can be found in the report for the parent project, 5348-21000-020-00D entitled, "Plant Germplasm Conservation and Research," and progress over the last year. 1. Acquire and store key native seed germplasm collections made by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the Western US. More than 500 accessions of native species collected by the Bureau of Land Management in the Western US have been received at the WRPIS (work in progress). 2. Manage and distribute seed from BLM collected germplasm at the Western Regional Plant Introduction Station (WRPIS) (work in progress). Cataloging of the accessions received is ongoing and distribution will depend upon seed quantity, and quality (work in progress). 3. Conduct research to maintain, characterize, and facilitate utilization of native germplasm (work in progress). A GS-9 research affiliate has been hired and will begin on August 22, 2005.