What is Morning Star Conservancy
Doing to Help?

Morning Star Conservancy’s three-tier conservation approach includes education about the crisis facing peyote’s future:

In Situ

conservation in the natural habitat

Ex Situ

conservation outside the natural habitat

Ex Situ Conservation

Due to various ecological threats and bureaucratic obstacles in peyote’s native habitat, several conservation organizations have established ex situ conservation projects. In March 2023, Morning Star Conservancy launched the Seedling Sanctuary Project. Our primary and daily religious devotion is to care for seed-producing mother plants and their offspring. This project serves as a genetic seed bank from various localities, and is crucial for ensuring seedling stock. In addition, our Sponsorship Program “Seedling to Ceremony” is an opportunity for Arizona NAC members to obtain the sacrament peyote for ceremonial needs from a sustainable source and an alternative to extracting limited wild populations.

In Situ Conservation

For many years, Morning Star Conservancy has sought land to establish safe zone sanctuaries where peyote can thrive undisturbed in its natural habitat. Recently, in cooperation with the Tamaulipan Thornscrub Sanctuary Project, Cactus Conservation Institute, and other non-profit conservation organizations, this critical in situ project has become a reality. With your help, we can establish conservation land trusts as sanctuaries for wild populations of peyote. We urgently request your financial support to help secure for peyote’s future in perpetuity.

Currently the prejudicial and outdated regulations restrict cultivation and re-wilding efforts in Texas. We need people to become advocates in updating environmental laws to reflect the 21st-century. Since this process is complex and evolving, sanctuaries can provide protection until proactive remediation methods can be implemented.

Although the best time to start these projects would have been thirty years ago, the time to take action is now, and we welcome your support.