Tribal Fly In - Indigenous Advocacy for Grassland Conservation

Earlier this spring, I had the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C. as part of the Tribal Advocacy Coalition organized by National Wildlife Federation (NWF). From April 13–15, I joined Merissa Dominquez of Buffalo Nations Grasslands Alliance and Kim Sager-Fradkin, wildlife biologist for the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, and Gloria Tom, Senior Strategic Policy Analyst for NWF, to advocate for Indigenous-led conservation and priorities and the future of North America’s grasslands.

Working in coordination with NWF’s National Advocacy Center, we met with House Representatives and staff members from Washington, Oklahoma, and South Dakota, as well as staff for Senator John Thune. Together, we advocated for legislation that would strengthen wildlife movement corridors, protect and restore grasslands, and support the conservation and storage of native seeds.

For me, this experience marked my first time participating in advocacy work. As an Indigenous Land Stewardship Coordinator for the Southeastern Grasslands Institute and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, I came to D.C. to speak on behalf of our native seeds and grasslands—both of which are disappearing at an alarming rate.

Native seeds are more than a conservation tool. For Indigenous communities, they are inseparable from cultural identity, traditional ecological knowledge, and our relationship with the land itself. Without healthy grasslands and resilient native seed systems, cultural lifeways tied to these landscapes are at risk of being lost.

The legislation we discussed—including the North American Grasslands Conservation Act, the Native American Seeds Act, and the American Seed and Restoration Center Establishment Act—would provide critical support for Indigenous stewardship, native seed sovereignty, and large-scale grassland restoration efforts across Turtle Island.

The message we carried to Congress was simple: twenty-five years from now will be too late. The time to invest in native seeds, wildlife connectivity, and grassland conservation is now.

Blog by Katie Smith-Easter, SGI Indigenous Land Stewardship Coordinator

Partner Spotlight: Roundstone Native Seed – Growing a Legacy of Native Grasslands

Roundstone Seed, LLC’s President, John Seymour, in a field of wildflowers.

When you walk the fields at Roundstone Native Seed in Kentucky, you’re stepping into more than just rows of carefully cultivated native plants. You’re stepping into a story of persistence, faith, and passion for restoring America’s biodiversity—a story that began with five-gallon buckets in Mammoth Cave National Park.

A Family Rooted in Native Plants

Image of Roundstone Native Seed, LLC’s logo made entirely from plant and seed material.

Roundstone’s president, John Seymour, grew up in the footsteps of his father, Randy, who literally wrote the book on Wildflowers of Mammoth Cave National Park. The Seymours’ early efforts in the 1990s involved hand-collecting seeds, bucket by bucket, before launching what would eventually become Roundstone Native Seed, LLC in 1994.

For John, the seed business has always been about more than just plants—it’s about ecotypes, adaptation, and resilience. “The same species can exist from the Midwest to the Southeast, but how it grows depends on rainfall, frost dates, soils, and insects,” John explains. “Genetics matter. Ecotype matters.” That philosophy has guided Roundstone’s growth from a small family venture into one of the most influential voices in the national native seed movement.

Weathering the Storms of Business

Like grasslands themselves, Roundstone has endured seasons of boom and bust. In the early years of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), the company grew rapidly—at one point expanding eightfold. But in 2009, orders collapsed. John recalls walking the fields carrying the weight of debt and doubt, but also learning invaluable lessons about resilience. “You have to be self-motivated,” he says. “Have faith, keep going, and know that what you’re doing makes a difference.”

A Partnership of Shared Vision

A field of Monarda citriodora (common name Lemon Beebalm).

Roundstone’s path crossed with SGI co-founder Dr. Dwayne Estes through mutual friends in the botanical world. The connection sparked quickly, fueled by a shared passion for plants and restoration. In 2016, the partnership became tangible at Dunbar Cave State Park, where the Seymours helped Dwayne and a burgeoning SGI to prepare the land and supply seed—at no cost. “Let’s help him for free,” Randy told John. That generosity helped catalyze a restoration project that continues to inspire today.

“Roundstone didn’t just pitch in a little, they gave a gift of seed and labor valued at $35,000,” says Dwayne. “That gift gave us our first pilot project and helped us build credibility. The value of Roundstone’s gift goes way beyond $35,000, it was truly a gift of love and friendship that is invaluable to SGI’s origin story.” 

Since then, Roundstone and SGI have partnered on projects large and small, from the 100-acre Google-funded restoration to training programs for foresters, land managers, and park staff. The collaboration has also extended to advocacy, with John and Dwayne traveling to Washington, D.C. to educate policymakers on why regionally adapted native seed resources matter.

Complementing, Not Competing

Image outside of Roundstone Native Seed LLC’s seed cleaning and storage facilities.

The native seed world is a small one, and Roundstone, like SGI, has always chosen collaboration over competition. “At least three businesses may be bidding on the same project,” John notes, “but my door has always been open. Helping others has never hurt us—it’s only made the whole movement stronger.”

This spirit of collaboration is evident in projects like SGI’s Barnett’s Woods & Prairie State Natural Area initiative, where Roundstone has provided guidance and support for producing foundation seed that will cut the costs of wild collection while ensuring the highest-quality ecotypes. The natural area, located just 15 minutes west of Austin Peay State University’s campus, will become a real showpiece for grassland restoration and research.

Lessons From the Land

Producing native seed is anything but easy. Some species only yield viable crops every three years. Others, like milkweed, resist being farmed and prefer to grow in clumps. Even perennial species may fail to set seed some years. “You never know which season will give you a harvest,” John explains. “That’s why research, collaboration, and education with partners like SGI are so important.”

For Roundstone, educating consumers is as important as producing seed. John prefers honesty—even if it frustrates a customer in the short term. “I’d rather you be mad at me now than mad at me later,” he says. “Restoration takes time, patience, and the right seed.”

Recognized Leadership

In 2025, John & Randy Seymour and Roundstone Native Seed were honored with the Aldo Leopold Award, recognizing their decades of leadership in native seed production, conservation, and partnership. It’s a fitting milestone for a family business that started with buckets of wildflowers and has become a national leader.

Looking Forward

Roundstone’s story is one of grit, generosity, and vision. As John reflects on advice he would give to the next generation of farmers interested in native seed production, “I never thought it would be a gold mine. I never knew it would be so arduous. But when people told me I couldn’t do something, that just drove me harder. Don’t let anyone tell you it can’t be done.”

At SGI, we’re proud to call Roundstone Native Seed not only a partner but a friend and our first donor. They believed in us even before there was an SGI. Together, we are building a future where grasslands thrive, biodiversity flourishes, and restoration efforts have the best chance to succeed—one seed at a time.

Blog by Eleanor Lopez, SGI Communications Specialist.

Grassland Restoration Update - January 2026

Seeding Barnett’s Woods & Prairie site with a wetland seed mix, January 2026.

The SGI team kicked off the new year strong in January by hand broadcasting native seed over three new prairie plantings.

SGI Restoration Technicians in the field.

This past fall, our Native Plant Material and Restoration teams, along with some volunteers, worked together to collect nearly 160 pounds of bulk seed through a combination of hand collection and seed harvester.

Trash can full of native seeds!

The initial seed mix consisted of 67 species, but we will continue to introduce new species over time. This planting helped our team bond and will help support countless species in the years to come. If you want to help collect seed for future prairie plantings, you can follow volunteer opportunities by checking our volunteer calendar or signing up for our volunteer newsletter at this link: https://www.segrasslands.org/volunteer-with-sgi.

Blog prepared by Vero Tessier, SGI Middle Tennessee Coordinator, and Eleanor Lopez, SGI Communications Specialist.

SGI’s First-ever Seed Donation to Local Educational Garden Project

🌱 Exciting news from Clarksville! Clarksville Christian School (Hwy TN-76) has been awarded a $500 grant from the Tennessee Native Plant Society to create a native plant garden on their campus. Students in grades 7–12 helped design the garden by voting on their preferred native species. The garden design and native plant selections were guided by their mentor Kathryn Lee, President of the Montgomery County Master Gardeners Association.

Kathy is a longtime SGI supporter and volunteer at SGI & APSU's Native Plant Teaching & Research Garden, which served as a model to help inspire the design of this new garden. In the spirit of shared learning and local conservation, the SGI Volunteer Team donated native seed collected in Fall 2025—right here in the same seed zone—to support this thoughtfully planned project. This marks SGI’s first-ever native seed donation to a community garden, and we hope to continue making important connections like this within the Clarksville, Montgomery County, TN community.

With help from instructors Mr. Remy Powell and Mr. Josh Gallimore, students planted Common Milkweed, Round-Headed Bush Clover, Prairie Coneflower, Senna, Mountain Mint, and Partridge Pea; other donations from the community included generous garden mulch for the beds and natural stone, pea-gravel for the walkway that brought the space together. The seeds are now settling in over winter in preparation for germination this spring.

More photos to come as this garden grows into full maturity over the next few years—we love seeing native plants (and partnerships!) take root. 🌾💚

Blog prepared by Laura Hunt, SGI Volunteer Coordinator, and Eleanor Lopez, SGI Communications Specialist.

Partner Spotlight: Deborah Rosenthal and Best Hope Farm -- A Grassland Revival in Middle Tennessee

Eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) on blazing star (Liatris spicata)

In late July 2025, the Southeastern Grasslands Institute (SGI) held one of its Seed Scouts Training sessions at Best Hope Farm, where acres of native prairie re-creations bloom along the rolling backroads of Dickson County, Tennessee. The 80+ acre property, marked by roadside signs that read “Prairie Re-Creation,” is a living testament to what one couple’s vision, persistence, and partnership can achieve.

As we toured the land, downy sunflowers (Helianthus mollis) and starry rosinweeds (Silphium asteriscus) swayed in the summer breeze and bees buzzed among mountain mint (Pycanthemum species) and bee balm (Monarda fistulosa) near the bunkhouse. Monarchs and swallowtails floated from flower to flower, feasting on the vibrant purple spikes of blazing star (Liatris spicata)—a prairie classic. At the heart of it all is Deborah, a woman whose retirement became a calling: restoring the historic prairies, savannas, and woodlands at Best Hope Farm, championing native plants, and advancing SGI’s mission to save the forgotten grasslands of the Southeast. Her husband, RJ Comer, leads their educational and outreach efforts, including turning Deborah’s wonky explanations into accessible posts about their efforts. 

From City Life to Prairie Life

Green lynx spider (Peucetia viridans) on ashy sunflower (Helianthus mollis)

Deborah’s journey began far from Tennessee prairies. A former lawyer and real estate professional in California, she once tended a very small succulent garden in Los Angeles. When she and RJ moved east in 2017, she brought with her traditional non-native landscaping notions and no understanding of invasive species, which she planted like periwinkle (Vinca minor), and creeping jenny (Lysimachia nummularia). But something wasn’t right. Other than the invasive species, the plants were too fussy and needed fungicides and just the right Goldilocks amount of water. “I thought, this is ridiculous,” she recalls.

A chance introduction to native plant advocates Mike Berkley of Grow Wild Nursery opened her eyes to a new approach. She started small—with a butterfly garden. But in 2019, she attended the Wild Ones Plant It Native Symposium in Chattanooga, where she heard SGI’s Dr. Dwayne Estes speak about the plight of America’s endangered grasslands. “I was blown away and fired up,” Deborah says. When she told RJ she wanted to experiment on a small corner of their 4-acre pasture, he said: “Go big or go home.”

Planting Seeds of Change

Image of a seed mix collected from prairies of Best Hope Farm.

With RJ’s encouragement, Deborah jumped in, not realizing how difficult it would ultimately be. She started by working with Robert Hoffman at Roundstone Native Seed on a seed mix and learned how to prepare the 4-acre site. That was the easy part because of Robert’s expertise and unwavering support. Once the site prep was completed, however, the contractor she had hired a year in advance to drill the seed repeatedly failed to show up. At wits end, Deborah left a message for SGI, hoping to find someone who could get the seed in the ground. To her surprise, Dwayne called her back the next day. SGI was then only two years old, with a tiny staff and a big vision.

From that phone call bloomed a partnership. Roundstone Native Seed ultimately seeded her fields, and Deborah and Dwayne, who coincidentally lived 20 minutes apart, became fast friends. Deborh’s role soon expanded beyond Best Hope Farm. With her background in business, the law, and nonprofit and organizational management, she began asking tough but necessary questions: “What are SGI’s priorities? How will you grow? What about the organization’s structure?”

Building a Movement Behind the Scenes

“Did I tell you Deborah is my secret weapon?” is something Dwayne will frequently say upon mentioning Best Hope Farm.

Over the next several years, Deborah became an integral part of SGI’s growth, serving as an advisor, sounding board, and even Interim Director of Operations for nine months during a crucial growth phase. “I blame Dwayne for everything,” she jokes, reflecting on how a single presentation led her to one of the most meaningful chapters of her life.

Her philosophy? “What is your highest and best use?” For SGI, that meant letting Dwayne focus on the larger vision, organizational capacity, and outreach, while Deborah worked to assemble the administrative backbone that eventually allowed SGI to scale from a handful of staff to nearly 50 employees today.

A Legacy in Bloom

Goldenrod flowering at Best Hope Farm

Today, Best Hope Farm is more than a private restoration—it’s a hub of education and inspiration. Deborah’s goals are to continually improve the restored and re-created grassland ecosystems at Best Hope Farm, eradicate invasive species, do real science to test theories and improve best practices, and inspire others in her region to do similar work. To those ends, Auburn University’s Forest Fire and Ecology Lab have incorporated Best Hope Farm into a broader regional study to take surveys measuring the carbon drawdown potential of native restoration habitat. Deborah worked with local governments to pass ordinances requiring a percentage of native planting in landscape plans and prohibiting invasive species. The Best Hope Farm Facebook page is more than a show-and-tell platform of pretty pictures. It's often entertaining and visitor-friendly posts include vital information about native habitat, plant biology, and restoration practices. 

Throughout all her work, Deborah has maintained her special relationship with SGI. The Best Hope Farm bunkhouse has hosted multiple SGI staff and trainees, and the farm has been the site of several SGI Field Days and Seed Scout trainings. Deborah’s vision is that part of Best Hope Farm—particularly the bunkhouse parcel, which includes savanna and prairie remnant restorations—will be managed in perpetuity, potentially in partnership with nearby Montgomery Bell State Park or SGI itself.

One large step in that direction is SGI’s recent award of the America’s Ecosystems Restoration Initiative which will bring significant resources to the project’s Dickson County anchor point of 100+ continuous acres of restored grassland, which includes Best Hope Farm and Montgomery Bell State Park. 

Gratitude for Grassroots Champions

SGI is fortunate to have community partners like Deborah who not only restore their own land but also lend their expertise, counsel, and heart to help build a conservation movement. Her journey from “city girl with a succulent garden” to a prairie pioneer underscores what’s possible when passion meets purpose.

“Helping Dwayne achieve this mission—now and going forward—has been the most rewarding accomplishment of my life,” Deborah reflects.

We couldn’t agree more.

Post prepared by Eleanor Lopez, SGI Communications Specialist.

Rare Plant Rediscovered in Virginia After 65 Years!

An exciting botanical discovery was made in Virginia! Minuartia godfreyi—also known as Sabulina paludicola or Godfrey’s sandwort—has been rediscovered in the state for the first time since 1960. This critically imperiled and globally rare species is found only in specialized calcareous wetlands, and is considered potentially extinct in four of the seven states where it historically occurred—including Virginia.

In June of 2025, SGI’s Central Appalachian Grasslands Coordinator, Alaina Krakowiak, made the exciting find: a new population of Minuartia godfreyi thriving in a Virginia wetland. Even more remarkable, this population is large—numbering in the thousands!

This rediscovery offers hope for the species’ future and highlights the importance of continued exploration and conservation of rare ecosystems. SGI will continue studying the site to better understand its unique plant community—and to see what other botanical surprises might be waiting to be found. 🌸🔍

Blog prepared by Dr. Eleanor Lopez, SGI Communications Specialist.

Research Highlight - SGI Alumnus Thomas Murphy earns an Early Career Award

The Southeastern Grasslands Institute would like to congratulate former SGI researcher and Estes Lab Master’s student, Thomas Murphy, Ph.D., on being the inaugural recipient of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists 2025 Elizabeth A. Zimmer Early Career Publication Award. The early career paper for which Thomas was selected for this award is Morphometric and Molecular Evidence Delimit Six Species in Clematis reticulata s.l. (Ranunculaceae: Clematis subg. Viorna). Murphy’s work for this paper was done while at APSU in the Center of Excellence for Field Biology as an Estes Lab member and SGI affiliate researcher. SGI’s Zach Irick was an important collaborator on this work, as was Jesse Harris whose molecular work on the project was funded through UC Boulder. SGI is grateful for the funding for this project provided by the Mt. Cuba Center in Delaware. Read more about the award and check out the American Society of Plant Taxonomists by clicking here. 

Thomas is set to graduate with his Ph.D. in botany from the University of Florida this fall. His Ph.D. work was with Dr. Lucas Majure, and focused on systematic botany, phylogenetics, and genomics on the genus Smilax species in South America. So far, Thomas has published two papers from his dissertation:

• A New Endemic Smilax (Smilacaceae) from Tafelberg, Suriname, Supported by Morphometric and Phylogenetic Evidence

• A New Endemic Species from the Guiana Shield, Smilax brevipedunculata (Smilacaceae)

Thomas will begin a postdoctoral position this fall in Miami, FL at the International Institute of Tropical Botany. At the Institute, he will be able to continue using his expertise in biodiversity-based and collections-based taxonomic research.

Congratulations again to our SGI alumnus!

Blog prepared by Eleanor Lopez, SGI Communications Specialist.

Getting to Know Us: Chris Oberholster

Chris Oberholster is SGI’s newest addition to our Leadership Team as our Director of Philanthropy. Chris has a BS in Grassland Science from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, which is the equivalent of a Range Science/Management degree here in the U.S. He then earned a Master’s in Agronomy at Auburn University (yes, he really studied cows at a “cow college”!) Chris began a PhD in Ecology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where he studied under Dr. Ed Clebsch, but he did not complete those studies as he had an opportunity to return to Alabama to work for The Nature Conservancy as a Community Ecologist at the Alabama Natural Heritage Program. Scroll down to learn more about Chris!

Q: Were you always interested in nature & the outdoors, and how did you get interested in grassland ecosystems?

My love for grasslands developed early in life as I grew up surrounded by the diverse mountain grasslands of eastern South Africa. My interest in grasslands grew out of my childhood interest in birdwatching, followed by a growing interest in identifying the rich flora in the grasslands and forests of the local 2,000 acre Vryheid Hill Nature Preserve, where I would explore with my family and friends. My academic training then built on that early interest.

A photo of rugged, mountainous eastern South African grasslands of Chris’s childhood.

Q: What did you do prior to coming to SGI?

I have been involved in biodiversity conservation in a variety of roles, including plant and habitat surveys, stewardship of lands including prescribed burning, lobbying at the state and federal levels, and fundraising. Most recently I was the Director of External Affairs for The Nature Conservancy in Alabama, where I advocated for conservation policy and funding in the Alabama Legislature and U.S. Congress. Prior to that I was the Development Director for Alabama Audubon.

What is your role within SGI?

As Director of Philanthropy for SGI, my role is to facilitate private funding support for the SGI mission from individuals, foundations and corporations.

What are you most excited about when it comes to working with SGI?

The challenge of securing the financial resources to protect and restore Southern grasslands at the massive scale needed to match the urgency that is necessary.

What are some of your hobbies?

Some are perhaps obvious since they are nature-connected, like birding and growing native plants. I also enjoy deer hunting and making my own biltong, the South African style jerky, and stamp collecting. 

Anything else you want to share with us?

After having experienced some of the formidable challenges facing those who try to conserve the natural world, I want to express my deepest gratitude to all people, whether nonprofit or government agency staff, volunteers, board members, donors, and decisionmakers, who help to protect and restore biodiversity anywhere on the Earth. And a special thanks to my family in the US and across the world for also appreciating nature.

Blog prepared by Dr. Eleanor Lopez, SGI Communications Specialist.

Genus of the Month - Cirsium

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Member of the plume thistle genus Cirsium, Cirsium altissimum. Copyright chia CC BY-NC 4.0

The Southeastern Grasslands Institute presents Genus of the Month: Cirsium, the plume thistles

The genus Cirsium is a group of important native grassland plants in the larger plant group Asteraceae, or the sunflower family. The Flora of the Southeastern United States lists 20 species of Cirsium you may come across in our region. Of these, 17 are native to the United States, and 3 are non-native and considered invasive.  Because of the feathery structures on their achenes (a type of single-seeded fruit), species in the genus Cirsium are commonly called plume thistles.

Benefits of Cirsium

• Pollinators - thistles in the genus Cirsium produce nectar that attracts and supports many pollinator species, including bees, butterflies, moths, wasps, and hummingbirds.

• Wildlife Food Source- Seeds produced by Cirsium species provide food for birds, as well as soft, fluffy material (called pappus) that birds use to line and insulate their nests.

Identifying Characteristics of Cirsium

Please find a key to the genus Cirsium linked here. Below are some defining characteristics of the genus.

• Composite Flowers - Like other members of the Asteraceae family, what may look like an individual Cirsium flower is actually a complex inflorescence. A single flowering head is made up of numerous small, individual flowers, or florets, and an involucre, which is the cup-like ring of leafy bracts at the base. These bracts, which are also known as phyllaries, are important to pay close attention to when identifying Cirsium species; some have spine-tipped phyllaries, while others are smooth. (Fig 1)

Fig. 1 Cirsium altissimum, tall thistle, with arrows and brackets highlighting morphological characteristics of Cirsium species, including decurrent leaf tissue, flower head, phyllaries, florets, and the involucre.

Selected Native Cirsium Species

• Cirsium altissimum (tall thistle)

  • Habitat: pastures, woodlands, thickets

    • Images by aggie_wildlifer (CC0)

• Cirsium discolor (field thistle)

  • Habitat: pastures, woodlands, thickets

    • Images by casey_harless (CC0)

• Cirsium muticum (swamp thistle)

  • Habitat: swamps, wet thickets, woodlands, seepage slopes, wet prairies, meadows

    • Images by whiteoak (CC0)

Invasive Cirsium Species in the SGI Focal Area

• Cirsium vulgare (bull thistle)

  •  Native to Europe

  • Identifiable by leaves with bases that extend down the length of the stem (decurrent leaves), forming a spiny wing

    • Images by andreakautz(CC0) and philmaynard (CC0)

• Cirsium arvense (Canada thistle)

  • Native to Eurasia

  • Identifiable by creeping rhizomes, which allow it to form large, dense colonies 

  • No spines on the phyllaries 

  • Only perennial Cirsium species in our region (all others are biennial).

    • Images by bagli (CC0) and letiziaw (CC0)

Blog by SGI Staff; based on work by Alaina Krakowiak, SGI Central Appalachian Grasslands Coordinator/Ecologist; blog prepared by Dr. Eleanor Lopez, SGI Communications Specialist.