**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** DEGRADED ECOSYSTEMS, I.E. LANDS THAT WOULD GENERALLY BE CAPABLE OF SUPPORTING VEGETATION BUT NO LONGER CAN (FREQUENTLY DUE TO ANTHROPOGENIC FACTORS), MAKE UP A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF DESERT LAND IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATES AS WELL AS GLOBALLY. THESE ECOSYSTEMS REQUIRE ACTIVE INTERVENTION, OFTEN THROUGH ARTIFICIAL SEEDING, IN ORDER TO RECOVER FROM THIS STATE AND SUPPORT MACROSCOPIC PLANT LIFE AGAIN. SUCH REVEGETATED LANDS CAN BECOME SIGNIFICANTLY ECONOMICALLY ACTIVE FOR GRAZING. WE PROPOSE THE ACTIVE REVEGETATION OF DESERT LANDSCAPES THROUGH THE DEPLOYMENT OF AUTONOMOUS ROBOTIC PLATFORMS WITH MOBILE MANIPULATORS THAT WILL LEARN TO IDENTIFY FAVORABLE SEEDING LOCATIONS, NAVIGATE TO THESE LOCATIONS, AND DISCERN SMALL VARIATIONS IN TERRAIN THAT MIGHT AFFECT LATER SITE EFFECTIVENESS. TO DO THIS, WE WILL DEVELOP NEW TECHNIQUES IN ROBOTIC NAVIGATION, ENVIRONMENTAL PERCEPTION, AND VISUAL-TACTILE FEEDBACK. THE END RESULT OF THIS PROJECT WILL BE NEW ECOSYSTEMS THAT CAN SUPPORT VEGETATION AND THAT ARE RE-INTRODUCED INTO PRODUCTIVITY THROUGH ACTIVE INTERVENTION ALONGSIDE ECOLOGISTS.