Nurseries and Seed System
Growing tomorrow's forests
Every year, wildfire scorches millions of acres of national forests, insects and disease weaken millions more, and sustainable timber harvest removes additional acreage that must be regenerated.
Behind every restored watershed, every replanted burn scar and the start of every healthy future forest is one essential ingredient: seeds.
Through our national network, the Forest Service collects, cultivates, and grows seeds that provide a wide variety of trees, grasses and other vegetation critical to reforestation across the country.
The Forest Service broke ground on the first federal nursery, the C.E. Bessey Nursery in Halsey, Nebraska, in 1902, a decade after the creation of federal forest reserves set aside to protect watersheds and manage timber supply. In the decades following the Civil War, timber increasingly became a valuable commodity, leading to uncontrolled commercial logging and land fraud, sparking a growing conservation movement that included sustainable management of forests.
From seeds to seedlings
Today, the Forest Service seedling system is a modern network of eight forest nurseries and seed extractories, or seed processing facilities, supplying a reliable source of native plant materials, vastly increasing seedling production and quality to ensure healthy forests for tomorrow.
Our employees are the behind-the-scenes team that helps forests get their start. Seed extractory employees carefully prepare high-quality seeds while nursery employees plant and nurture those young plants until they’re strong enough to thrive on their own. Some of the facilities do both.
In 2024, the team produced about 25 million tree seedlings for reforestation and restoration efforts and stored thousands of pounds of seeds ready to use.
These facilities ensure forest recovery is possible, including helping to recovery threatened and endangered species, protect wildlife habitat, and ensure that future generations can continue to rely on forests for clean air and water, places of respite and production of sustainable wood products.
Meet our facilities
Facts:
Established in 1902
46 acres of bareroot productions space and 48,000-square-feet of greenhouse space
Produces approximately 1.5 million bareroot seedlings and 1.7 million containerized seedlings each year
Produces seedlings for programs that distribute trees to landowners in six Great Plains and central U.S. states
Processes approximately 1,500 bushels of cones each year
Stores more than 14,000 pounds of native seed
What it does:
Extracts, cleans and stores seed obtained from cones and berries
Specializes in drought tolerant species for the Great Plains and central U.S.
Grows conifers and hardwoods adapted to prairie and sandhills environments
Supports large-scale restoration after wildfire and wind events
Fun fact: Established in 1902, the Charles E. Bessey Tree Nursery is the oldest federal tree nursery in the country. Founded by botanist Charles E. Bessey, he set out to create a large human-engineered forest in the treeless Nebraska Sandhills to supply wood for homesteaders and transcontinental railroads. Despite being an unlikely location for a nursery, the loose sand allows seedlings to be pulled from the ground with virtually no root damage, resulting in exceptionally high-quality bareroot trees. Today, the Nebraska National Forest stands as a testament to that vision as the largest human-created forest in the U.S.
Facts:
Initially named the Watersmeet Nursery when established in 1935
66 acres in bareroot seedling production and over 21,000 square feet of greenhouse space
Produces about 5 million bareroot seedlings and 1 million containerized seedlings annually
Cultivates more than 25 different plant species
Processes about 1,000 bushels of cones each year
Stores more than 8,000 pounds of native seed
What it does:
Manages regional seed stores for U.S. eastern states
Specializes in Great Lakes species, including red pine, white pine, white spruce, jack pine, and various hardwoods
Supports reforestation and restoration after insect outbreaks and storm damage
Distributes seedlings across a significant geographical area from Minnesota to the Atlantic Ocean.
Fun fact:
This nursery is the only Forest Service nursery in the Northeast, making it a crucial site for reforestation efforts in the eastern half of the country. The facility is named after James W. Toumey, an internationally renowned botanist and pioneer professor at the Yale School of Forestry. For decades, Toumey’s work in Forest Service nurseries was the source for nursery production techniques and protocols. During the Great Depression, the Civilian Conservation Corps, affectionately known as “Roosevelt’s Tree Army,” planted millions of trees to reforest the Great Lakes area after logging and farming. In Michigan, Corps enrollees relied heavily on Forest Service nurseries like Toumey to supply planting stock. At one point, Michigan had four active Forest Service tree nurseries to support vast reforestation projects. Toumey is the only one still operational today.
Facts:
Established in 1936 as the W.W. Ashe Nursery, later evolving into a seed extraction and storage operation
One of two Forest Service stand-alone seed extractories
Processes about 1,000 bushels of cones and other native plant material each year
Stores more than 18,000 pounds of native seed
What it does:
Extracts, cleans, and stores seeds obtained from cones
Supports restoration of ecologically and culturally significant species in the Southeastern U.S.
Supports reforestation efforts after logging, storms, pests, and disease
Fun fact: The original W.W. Ashe Nursery, established in 1936, supplied millions of seedlings for the Civilian Conservation Corps soil erosion and timber recovery efforts during the Great Depression. The facility is now a stand-alone extractory that provides genetically diverse, locally adapted seeds for major reforestation and ecological restoration projects. The facility is named after William Willard Ashe, a pioneering southern botanist and forester whose early conservation advocacy helped lay the groundwork for the federal purchase of the Southern Appalachian National Forests.
Facts:
Initially established as the Bend Pine Nursery in 1948, later evolving into a dedicated seed extraction and storage operation in 1999
One of two stand-alone seed extractories within the Forest Service system
Processes approximately 4,000 bushels of cones each year.
Stores more than 68,000 pounds of native seed.
What it does:
Extracts, cleans, and stores seeds obtained from cones and fruits
Supports seed storage for the Pacific Northwest
Provides species adapted to dry, high-elevation desert forests.
Ensures the availability of high-quality seeds for successful plant propagation and reforestation.
Fun fact:
This facility was instrumental in preparing seed for the Moon Tree Project with NASA, including developing the seed ravioli packaging that in now used for tree seeds traveling into space. In a nod to the legacy of Apollo 14, the first Moon Tree Project, and a celebration of the future of space exploration with NASA’s Artemis Program, a “new generation” of Moon Tree seeds traveled into lunar orbit aboard the Orion spacecraft.
The seeds traveled thousands of miles beyond the moon, spending about four weeks in space before returning to Earth. When they were returned, the Forest Service nurseries germinated then grew the seedlings, which were distributed to schools, libraries, museums and other community locations across the country.
Facts:
Established in 1957
Encompasses 157 acres with 221 acres used for plant cultivation
Cultivates more than 15 different species of plant materials annually
Produces approximately 2 million bareroot seedlings and 3 million containerized seedlings each year
Processes approximately 3,000 bushels of cones each year
Stores over 80,000 pounds of native seed
What it does:
Provides seedlings for 18 national forests in California
One of the most important nurseries for post-wildfire recovery in California
Grows drought-tolerant and fire-adapted species for Sierra Nevada forests
Fun fact:
Named after the nearby city of Placerville, a name selected in 1854 when the city was incorporated. They wanted a better name than the previous two nicknames—Dry Diggins, because miners hauled dirt away from creeks to wash out and find gold, and Hangtown, so chosen after vigilantes carried out swift and public hangings.
Placerville Nursery was part of the first Moon Tree Project. Seeds were aboard the 1971 Apollo 14 mission, thanks to command module pilot Stuart Roosa. A former Forest Service smokejumper in Oregon, Roosa kept about 600 loblolly pine, sycamore, sweetgum, redwood, and Douglas fir seeds in his personal kit.
Neither Roosa nor the seeds landed on the moon. But after he landed back on Earth, Roosa sent the seeds to Placerville for cultivation before being planted across the country.
Facts:
Established in 1959
55 acres dedicated to bareroot seedling production and 24,000 square feet of greenhouse space
Produces about 1.3 million bareroot seedlings and 1.7 million containerized seedlings each year
Processes about 3,000 bushels of cones each year
Stores more than 19,000 pounds of native seed
What it does:
Produces seedlings for fire-prone landscapes across the Intermountain West
Grows sagebrush and other native shrubs essential for wildlife habitat
Supports large postfire restoration projects
Provides plant material to various federal and state agencies across a broad geographical area, including southern Idaho, Utah, Nevada, and western Wyoming
Fun fact:
The nursery, nearby dam, reservoir and the 5,904-foot summit are all named Lucky Peak. That moniker stems from when miners in the 1800s got lucky and struck gold on the Shaw Mountain range. They referred to the top of the mountain as Lucky Peak, and the name stuck—repeatedly.
The nursery originally focused on bareroot conifers to tackle post-logging and burn reforestation backlogs. A native shrub program developed and filled a critical role. Today, Lucky Peak produces large quantities of native shrubs—including sagebrush and bitterbrush—essential for sage grouse habitat and winter forage for mule deer and other wildlife. This makes the nursery a major contributor to wildlife habitat restoration.
Facts:
Established in 1960
130 acres of bareroot production space and 25 controlled greenhouses
Produces about 2 million bareroot seedlings and 4 million containerized seedlings each year
The largest facility for containerized seedling production within the National Forest System
More than 25 acres in seed increase production
Processes about 3,000 bushels of cones each year
Stores more than 16,000 pounds of native seed
What it does:
Provides quality seedlings for publicly owned lands
Works with federal, state, and private forestry organizations to demonstrate successful tree growing practices and share new technology
Fun fact:
The Coeur d’Alene Nursery was developed in northern Idaho to replace the historic Savenac Nursery that was established in 1907.
Today, this facility is the nation's top producer of whitebark pine seedlings, carefully hand cultivating them in a race to save the species from blister rust and remove the tree from the threatened endangered species list. The nursery started this effort in the early 1990s and is now critical to the restoration of this keystone species, growing hundreds of thousands of blister rust-resistant seedlings annually.
Facts:
Established in 1978
Bareroot seedling production area of about 213 acres
Produces approximately 6 million bareroot seedlings and 1 million containerized seedlings each year
Produces 15 tons of native grass and wildflower seeds annually
Over 40 acres in seed increase production
Stores more than 55,000 pounds of native seed
What it does:
Provides seedlings and other plants to support reforestation and restoration efforts on publicly owned lands
Major clients include the agency, the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Indian Affairs
Specializes in growing bareroot conifers, suitable for most Western states
Supports the planting requirements of Washington, Oregon, and California
Fun fact:
This nursery is named after J. Herbert Stone, a Yale Forestry School graduate and legendary figure in the U.S. Forest Service. Over his 36-year forestry career, Stone influenced land management and conservation across national forests in Oregon and Washington. His legacy is tied to regional wilderness and timberlands.
While originally built to fuel the post-war timber boom, the nursery's modern mission has evolved significantly. It acts as a botanical savior, amplifying native grasses, wildflowers, and pollinator plants to combat wildfire devastation and erosion across the western U.S. This nursery has a robust seed increase production program within its nursery fields, contributing significantly to the restoration of uncommon species.