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Committee adopts amendment and advances bill to make April Oregon’s Native Plant Appreciation Month
Summary
Senate Bill 547, which designates April as Oregon Native Plant Appreciation Month and includes an amendment noting more than 115 endemic species, advanced to the floor after testimony from the Native Plant Society of Oregon.
Senate Bill 547, which would designate April of each year as Oregon Native Plant Appreciation Month, advanced from committee to the Senate floor on Feb. 12 after the committee adopted a technical amendment and heard testimony on the ecological, economic and cultural value of native plants.
Senator Janine Salman introduced the measure as a constituent request. Judy Sanders, vice president of the Native Plant Society of Oregon and the bill’s coordinator, told the committee that Oregon has more than 3,400 native plant species, and the state ranks fifth nationally in native flora. Sanders said a recent count indicates more than 115 species are endemic to Oregon, and the dash‑1 amendment updates the bill to reflect that figure.
She described multiple benefits of native plants: habitat and food for wildlife, reduced irrigation and pesticide needs in landscaping, carbon sequestration in native forests and cultural uses by Indigenous people. Sanders also noted risks from more than 1,300 non-native wild species and roughly 150 invasive species in Oregon; 633 native species are listed as at risk by the Oregon Biodiversity Information Center.
The committee adopted the dash‑1 amendment and then voted to move SB 547, as amended, to the floor with a do-pass recommendation.
Votes at a glance: Committee adopted the dash‑1 amendment and advanced SB 547 as amended to the floor by roll call.
