Federal grant to help grow and save 14 rare Georgia plants

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By Associated Press June 28, 2021 2 min read

SOCIAL CIRCLE, Ga. (AP) — A federal grant has been awarded to sample, grow and save 14 rare plant species in Georgia.

The $780,000 grant will support work by a partnership led by the state Department of Natural Resources, the agency said in a news release.

It will also increase the capacity to preserve plants at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, Atlanta Botanical Garden and the Chattahoochee Nature Center and to spread expertise and support to others in the Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance, the release says.

“The grant is going to fortify (the Georgia alliance’s) main partners and build the diversity and number of botanical gardens that can help preserve rare plants,” Department of Natural resources senior botanist Lisa Kruse said. The alliance includes more than 50 universities, agencies, nonprofits and companies.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Recovery Challenge grant was awarded for a five-year project to protect the 14 plants, which are all listed as endangered or threatened by federal authorities, and to all members to the alliance to help do that work, the release says.