In 1993 the U.S. Navy initiated a program with the Alaska Plant Materials Center to collect and increase native plant species for possible commercial production. This program continued in 1994 and was joined by the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army. These three branches of the Department of Defense (DOD) continued to support the Alaska Plant Materials Center at varying levels through 1999. In addition to funding for acquisition; the various branches of DOD, and the U.S. Coast Guard, provided sites for evaluation and demonstration plots as well as actual logistic support in the form of transport and billeting.

The DOD collection efforts were strongly associated with coastal areas in Alaska as much of the defense related activies both present and past have been on coastal sites. The one exception to the coastal efforts is the collection from Fort Wainwright where a significant number of interior dry land species were gathered.

In total 1354 accessions representing 128 species were collected and placed in evaluation. Initial screening of the collections started in 1994 and continued through 2004. This process and additional advanced evaluation resulted in 18 selected class releases that can be traced to the initial funding effort given by DOD. A single specific release, Wainwright Slender wheatgrass, Elymus trachycaulus, is noteworthy. This single collection and resulting release has become the most widely produced and the largest in total volume native grass crop species produced in Alaska. The overall contributions and impact of DOD in the development of new native species crops cannot be overstated. The producers in Alaska and the Alaska Plant Materials Center owe the DOD components and the U.S. Coast Guard much thanks in this effort.