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Pre-varietal germplasms have been used in recent years to hasten the availability of plant species and ecotypes that were previously difficult to acquire or not available in sufficient quantities. The pre-varietal germplasm mechanism was adopted to allow commercial release of germplasm in significantly less time than a cultivar. NRCS Plant Materials Centers are charged with the collection, assembly, and selection of new plant materials. These materials have undergone comparative performance evaluations among numerous collections. Using the pre-varietal germplasm format, promising plants can be selected for release in a relatively short amount of time. Over the past two decades the NRCS Plant Materials Program has released or cooperated in the release of several pre-varietal germplasms to meet specific conservation demands. In this, the pre-varietal germplasm program has been very successful at providing new species and ecotypes to restoration and reclamation needs in the West. Some NRCS pre-varietal releases such as Anatone Germplasm bluebunch wheatgrass have gained widespread acceptance and have been broadly utilized on private and public lands throughout the western states. This scale of use however may be beyond the scope intended by pre-varietal release. The pre-varietal germplasm release system should not be seen as a replacement for cultivar development. Some pre-varietal germplasms that have been field tested and shown to have a broad area of adaptation and wide usage may warrant advancement to cultivar status.