236 • Technologies To Maintain Biological Diversity 



asked to identify gaps in the diversity of crop 

 species, coordinate collection and maintenance 

 needs, develop priorities for crops, and assess 

 the data available on accessions. However, no 

 provision exists within NPGS to ensure that the 

 necessary meetings of a CAC will be held or 

 reports developed. To date, NPGS has relied 

 on the dedication and commitment of the sci- 

 entists involved to accomplish these tasks. Al- 

 though some CACs have achieved a great deal, 

 others have been slow to organize and develop 

 their activities. ARS has argued that funding 

 or other support for CACs is unnecessary, but 

 OTA has found the committees feel they would 

 be more effective if funds for frequent and regu- 

 lar meetings were available. 



The diverse nature of NPGS can also be seen 

 in its different roles of providing service func- 

 tions of maintaining germplasm and undertak- 

 ing research programs. Functions such as grow- 

 ing out seeds, evaluating accessions, assessing 

 viability, and managing information are serv- 

 ice-oriented. Many Federal and State scientists 

 within NPGS, however, are evaluated on a sys- 

 tem that can provide disincentives for such 

 activities. The problem can become acute when 

 decreased funding means that research staff 

 must handle service functions. 



The need for more personnel and funding has 

 increased with the amount of germplasm held 

 by NPGS facilities. Concern about characteri- 

 zation and evaluation of accessions has created 

 additional burdens for many facilities. There- 

 fore, proposed changes should consider im- 

 proved support of the basic operations along 

 with plans for new construction. 



The National Seed Storage Laboratory con- 

 tinues to need improvement (7,56,57,58,60). 

 Within 2 years, the existing facility will exceed 

 its storage capacity. Collections at the RPISs 

 and other facilities are witholding some acces- 

 sions from NSSL. But keeping them creates an 

 additional burden for facilities not equipped 

 for long-term storage. Without expanded space, 

 NSSL cannot provide the necessary backup 

 storage for NPGS germplasm collections. 



In addition, NSSL storage rooms were built 

 before the use of subfreezing and cryogenic 



storage. OTA found that the NSSL collections 

 require upgraded facilities with access to mod- 

 ern storage technologies and backup refriger- 

 ation systems. One proposed NSSL facility 

 would quadruple present storage capacity and 

 enable use of modern technologies. Funds for 

 construction, however, are not available in the 

 Administration's current budget (45). 



Although many long-standing deficiencies 

 have been addressed by administrative changes 

 such as creation of the crop advisory commit- 

 tees, future improvements of NPGS will require 

 additional funds for facilities, as well as per- 

 sonnel, equipment, and supplies to support 

 basic operations. 



Most States do not formally fund offsite germ- 

 plasm maintenance activities independent of 

 NPGS. California, an exception, began a pro- 

 gram in 1980 to conserve the genetic diversity 

 of important plant and animal species within 

 the State (33). The California Gene Resources 

 Conservation Program, which is currently in- 

 active, raised awareness of the need to conserve 

 germplasm resources. A program at the Univer- 

 sity of California at Davis will conduct research 

 on germplasm resources in the State and pro- 

 vide funds for orphan collections, those that 

 may be vulnerable due to the death or retire- 

 ment of principal curators (49). 



Private individuals and grassroots organiza- 

 tions are preserving a significant amount of 

 agricultural crop diversity not found in govern- 

 mental collections (20,44,59). The Seed Savers 

 Exchange, for example, helps preserve heir- 

 loom vegetable varieties and other vegetable 

 seeds not available from the Federal Govern- 

 ment or commercial producers. The exchange 

 of seeds among its 450 members helps ensure 

 the survival of some 3,500 plant varieties, most 

 of which can be found only within the orga- 

 nization. (For further discussion of Seed Savers 

 Exchange and other grassroots efforts to pre- 

 serve agricultural plant germplasm, see ref. 59.) 



Private industry also maintains plant germ- 

 plasm in conjunction with developmental pro- 

 grams for new crop varieties or as marketed 

 seed varieties. United Brands, for instance, 

 maintains the most extensive collection of 



