Aberdeen Plant Materials Center (IDPMC)
Serving areas in the States of Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming
Established: 1939
Size: 149 acres
PMC Operation: NRCS
Land Ownership: South Bingham Soil Conservation District and Idaho Department of Fish and Game
The Aberdeen Plant Materials Center (IDPMC) provides plant solutions for the diverse landscapes of the Intermountain West including areas of southern Idaho, northern Nevada, eastern Oregon, western Utah, and western Wyoming. The Center is located in the Snake River Plain in southeastern Idaho. Land use in the PMC service area is diverse with native and seeded pasture, rangeland, irrigated and non-irrigated farmland, mountain valleys, foothills, and forestlands. Because of increasing human population in the region, land use is changing to urban areas, hobby farms, and recreational areas for hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities.
Priorities for the Center include plant collection, selection and development, seed and plant production, developing methods for improving degraded lands, conservation demonstrations, and technology transfer. The Center provides technical information for fighting invasive and noxious weeds, rehabilitation of lands following wildfire, buffer and windbreak development, propagation of native and non-native grasses, forbs and shrubs, and improvement of degraded lands.
The Aberdeen Plant Materials Center has cooperatively released and maintains Foundation quality seed stock for 19 conservation plants including bluebunch wheatgrass, thickspike wheatgrass, basin wildrye, Indian ricegrass, western wheatgrass,, penstemon, flax, and small burnet as well as a number of introduced varieties of dryland and irrigated forages.
Highlights
EROSION & PLANT COMMUNITY HEALTH ON WORKING LANDS
Conserve and enhance soil resources with plant science technology
- Conservation Plant Species for the Intermountain West is a guide which helps the user decide appropriate plants to use for conservation plantings.
- Pasture and Range Seedings: Planning-Installation-Evaluation is a guide to assist in planning and installing successful plantings.
- Calibrating a Seed Drill for Conservation Plantings, a how-to guide
WATER QUALITY
Improve water quality and quantity with plant science technology
- Users Guide to the Description, Propagation, and Establishment of Wetland Plant Species and Grasses for Riparian Areas in the Intermountain West designed to assist users in repairing damaged wetland and riparian areas.
- How to Plant Willows and Cottonwoods for Riparian Restoration, a guide to successfully planting key riparian species.
- Willow Clump Plantings, a guide to planting willows using an innovative bio-engineering technique.
- The Practical Streambank Bioengineering Guide, a guide to stabilizing eroding streambanks.
PLANTS TO HELP SOLVE RESOURCE PROBLEMS
Provide for and promote the commercial production of NRCS developed plants to ensure that adequate seed and plants are available for use in cooperative conservation programs
- Provide Foundation quality seed of 19 conservation plants to the commercial seed industry to insure the availability of plant material for Farm Bill and other conservation programs.
- Seed Production Standards for Conservation Plants and Reading Seed Packaging Labels – Calculating Seed Mixtures, two guides to assist users in how to obtain quality seed, save money, and optimize chances of success.
Aberdeen Plant Materials Center
P.O. Box 296
1691 A South 2700 West
Aberdeen, ID 83210-0296
Telephone: 208-397-4133
Fax: 855-524-1691
