By Pam Rosendal, Colorado Master Gardener

On December 5, 1958, the United States quietly opened the National Seed Storage Laboratory in Fort Collins, Colorado. Its original purpose was sobering: to safeguard the nation’s food supply in the event of a nuclear catastrophe. If the worst happened, this vault would be humanity’s agricultural insurance policy – a way to restart farming from scratch.

Today, operating as the National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation (NLGRP), a part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service, the mission has evolved to address modern threats: insect infestations, disease epidemics, and climate change. Fort Collins was chosen for a practical reason that resonates with any gardener: Its naturally dry climate is ideal for long-term seed preservation.

With almost one million accessions, the NLGRP is the largest collection of plant and microbial genetic resources stored under a single roof anywhere in the world. The animal collection alone holds over 1.1 million samples representing more than 150 livestock breeds, the only facility of its kind in the nation. Yes, that even includes bee semen, stored to guard against pollinator extinction.

The lab houses two distinct storage environments: a freezer vault maintained at -18°C for most seeds, and a cryogenic liquid nitrogen vault for animal genetic material, microorganisms, and especially sensitive plant varieties. The collection also includes more than 23,000 native seed accessions gathered specifically for ecosystem restoration projects across the country.

Fort Collins sets itself apart from the world’s most famous seed vault, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway. The so-called “Doomsday Vault” buried in Arctic permafrost operates on a deposit-only model: seeds go in, but they are not routinely tested once stored. The NLGRP takes a fundamentally different approach. Scientists there run a rigorous, ongoing viability testing program to confirm that seeds in the vaults are still alive and capable of germinating. Seeds are periodically pulled from storage and sprouted under controlled conditions to verify that they remain viable. Any accession that falls below acceptable germination thresholds is flagged for regeneration before it’s too late.

Another way in which the NLGRP distinguishes itself from Svalbard is that it actively supports ongoing agriculture research. Researchers and breeders worldwide can take seeds out of the bank to use in their research, which in the long run, supports work toward improving global agriculture.

This quiet facility tucked into northern Colorado is, in the most literal sense, a living insurance policy for every garden, every farm, and every plate in America and the world beyond. It’s a treasure hiding in plain sight and it’s right in our backyard.

Resources

Learn more about Plant Science at the NLGRP at the USDA’s website.

Take a virtual tour of the NLGRP.