232 • Technologies To Maintain Biological Diversity 



stead of restoring the area's original diversity. 

 The National Park Service (NPS) has instituted 

 small-scale restoration projects, mainly for areas 

 affected by past tourist use or other distur- 

 bances (32). An exception to the typical small- 

 scale NPS restoration project is the legislatively 

 mandated (Public Law 95-250) Redwood Creek 

 rehabilitation project in Redwood National 

 Park. The project is developing rehabilitation 

 techniques for 36,000 acres of previously logged 

 and seriously eroded slopes in the redwood- 

 mixed conifer ecosystem. 



The Fish and Wildlife Service and Environ- 

 mental Protection Agency identify water bod- 

 ies polluted by chemicals or acid rain that are 

 suitable for restoration. In lakes damaged by 

 acid rain in the Northeast, for example, FWS 

 has spent $5 million in a liming effort to reduce 

 lake acidity and restore aquatic life (32). The 

 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is researching 

 wetland restoration techniques to mitigate de- 

 velopment projects in wetlands. 



One future opportunity to restore diversity 

 is by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's 

 (USDA) implementation of the conservation re- 

 serve provision of the Food Security Act of 1985 

 (Public Law 99-198). The conservation reserve: 



. . . authorizes USDA to contract with farmers 

 to remove 40 million acres of erodible land from 

 row crop production. . . . The retired acres 

 would be planted to grasses, legumes, and trees 

 to reduce erosion and enhance wildlife (66). 



This provision could be strengthened if resto- 

 ration of vegetation in riparian areas were in- 

 cluded in the legislation. The reconstruction 

 of debt portion of this bill may be more benefi- 

 cial to diversity. It allows the farmer to offer 

 up land for not less than 50 years to be used 

 to lower the debt. 



Private efforts may be the leading contribu- 

 tors to restoring biological diversity. Although 

 much reclamation is being carried out by in- 

 dustries and consulting firms in compliance 

 with regulations, work is also being done by 

 small organizations and individuals motivated 

 by esthetic and environmental interests. 

 Universities also are conducting research to de- 

 velop techniques for restoring different ecosys- 

 tems. Recently, restoration has been identified 

 as a focus of research at the Cary Arboretum 

 in New York and at the Center for Restoration 

 Ecology at the University of Wisconsin (32). 



OFFSITE DIVERSITY MAINTENANCE PROGRAMS 



Federal programs to maintain diversity off- 

 site generally involve germplasm of agricultur- 

 ally or economically important plants and ani- 

 mals. Less attention is given to wild plants and 

 animals at the Federal level than at the State 

 or private level. State efforts to conserve a diver- 

 sity of plants, animals, or micro-organisms off- 

 site are poorly documented and tend to be 

 widely dispersed. Private institutions conduct 

 numerous activities directly related to the main- 

 tenance of biological diversity offsite. Conse- 

 quently, offsite conservation of many biologi- 

 cal resources occurs only as a result of private 

 efforts. For ease in discussion, offsite mainte- 

 nance of biological diversity is divided into 

 plant, animal, and micro-organism programs, 

 although programs overlap considerably. 



Pll 



ims 



Historically, responsibilities for maintaining 

 plant resources at the Federal level included 

 only domesticated plants under the jurisdiction 

 of USDA. Although recent legislation has in- 

 cluded some wild plant species (e.g.. Forest and 

 Rangeland Renewable Resources Research Act, 

 Rural Development Act), the focus of USDA 

 is still reflected in programs to maintain crop- 

 related germplasm. 



Agricultural Plants 



The most significant program is the National 

 Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) — a diffuse 

 network of USDA, State, and private institu- 

 tions, private industry, and individuals. NPGS 



