United States Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service		 Plant Materials Program Go to Accessibility Information
Skip to Page Content
 Native grasses

Information For Communities

Updated 10/06/2009

Native Prairie Landscaping at Horizon Middle School, Bismarck, ND.
Native Prairie Landscaping at
Horizon Middle School, Bismarck, ND
Photo Credit: Bismarck Plant Materials Center

Using plants in urban landscapes can be a valuable component of managing storm- water runoff. Plants can be used in biofiltration systems including bioswales, bioretention cells and rain gardens to capture runoff from impervious surfaces such as rooftops, driveways, and patios.

Many of the Plant Materials Programs 600+ conservation plant releases can and are used to create colorful low water-use, drought tolerant, sustainable landscapes. Native plants released by the Plant Materials Program are often more fire resistant and remain green longer than invasive species. Below are a few publication topics that may be of interest to communities. 

Features

  • Community Garden Guides - Rose Lake Plant Materials Center, Michigan
    These guides are designed to help communities and individuals improve their production techniques to succeed in these efforts. While the guides were written specifically for the Great Lakes area of the US, they are indeed applicable across the entire northern United States, southern Canada, and anyplace where a longer growing season is desired.
  • Community Assistance and Farmland Preservation - NRCS

Featured Publications

If you encounter any problems with the files provided on this page, please contact Leslie Glass at 701-250-4330.

These documents require Adobe Acrobat.

Living Landscapes in North Dakota: A Guide to Native Plantscaping. (PDF; 7.8 MB) North Dakota NRCS. 2006. USDA, NRCS, Plant Materials Center., Bismarck, North Dakota. June 2006. 38p. (ID# 6598)
"A rain garden is a colorful, perennial planting designed to capture and use rain water that may otherwise run off.  It is a garden in a shallow depression.  It can be large or small..... "

Rain Gardens, Capturing and Using the Rains of the Great Plains. (PDF; 725 KB) Stange, Craig and Nancy Jensen. 2007. Bismarck, ND. (ID# 7278)
"Native Landscaping provides an attractive, environmentally friendly landscape while reducing water and maintenance requirements....."

Creating Native Landscapes in the Northern Great Plains and Rocky Mountains. (PDF; 5.2 MB) Majerus, M.E., C. Reynolds, J. Scianna, S. Winslow, L. Holzworth, and B. Woodson. 2001. USDA-NRCS, Bozeman, MT. October 2001. 16p. (ID# 1734)
 
Improving Urban Landscapes  (PDF; 434 KB) Aug 2007

Conservation Plant Solutions (PDF; 813 KB) Version 2.0 0802

Responding to Natural Disasters (PDF; 350 KB) Version 3.0 0802

Additional Publications and Resources


< Back to NRCS National Plant Materials Program