Alnus maritima is a very rare alder species that is only known to grow at three geographically disjunct sites in the United States: Bartow County, Georgia, central Oklahoma, and the Delmarva Peninsula. In this project we are evaluating the viability and germination rate of seeds from the GA population and conditions in which they can be stored, to focus on long-term conservation of germplasm. In November 2021, we collected seeds from 15 trees in the GA population of A. maritima. We are using these seeds to evaluate germination rate, as well as embryo viability via a chemical analysis to determine the proportion of seeds that contain metabolically active embryos. We are also evaluating the cold tolerance of the seeds to determine the most appropriate temperature for long-term seed storage. We placed seeds in treatments of 20℃, 4℃, -30℃, and -80℃ for 5 months and then reevaluated seed germination and viability to evaluate sensitivity of seeds to these storage temperatures. Preliminary data demonstrate that of the seeds with living embryos, the majority germinate, however a low proportion of seeds contain live embryos. This low percentage of viable seeds may help to explain one reason that this species is so rare. Preliminary cold tolerance data show no significant differences in the proportion of viable embryos in the different storage temperatures. A long-term seed repository can help to ensure the conservation of this rare species to avoid a total loss if there were a catastrophic event at the only site where they grow.