Changing social values and advances in ecological knowledge determine
native seed policy for revegetating range and forest lands. Natural re
source managers are shifting from seeding introduced species for their
widespread adaptability to reestablishing native species in order to
maintain or restore the genetic and ecological integrity of native eco
systems. Addressing the problems of reestablishing native plants on a
site-specific basis has been increasingly recognized as an integral pa
rt of ecosystem management of large landscapes. We review the formatio
n and implementation of native seed policy for fire rehabilitation and
mining reclamation by the major federal land management agencies in t
he United States, the Department of Interior's Bureau of Land Manageme
nt (BLM) and the Department of Agriculture's Forest Service, We then e
xamine native seed policy implementation on specific land revegetation
projects over the past 10 years for 4 BLM districts in the state of N
evada, We conclude with an analysis of native seed policy in principle
versus practice and suggest implications for future polity review and
implementation.