Our project tackles a key challenge in conservation: producing enough healthy seeds to restore
endangered plant populations and ultimately remove species from protection lists. We focus on a
rare Idaho plant caught in an “extinction vortex,” where small population size, low genetic
diversity, and poor reproduction reinforce each other. Using genomic tools, we guide strategic
crosses between plants to improve reproductive success and boost seed production, with the goal of developing a scalable, science-based approach to help rescue other endangered plants facing similar challenges.