Fish and Game Needs Volunteers to Plant for Wildlife

Would you like to do something for wildlife? How about joining the ranks of other community spirited people who volunteer to plant bitterbrush and sagebrush seedlings to help the Fish and Game Department restore critical winter range for deer and elk that has gone up in smoke during recent summer wildfires? The annual planting project begins March 5 and continues on March 12, 19 and 26, 2005. For more information about the planting project, contact Mary Dudley at 327-7099. Why plant bitterbrush and sagebrush? The native shrubs comprise an important component of big game winter ranges in Idaho and throughout the West. Besides providing essential food sources for deer, elk and other wildlife, bitterbrush and sagebrush provide cover from the elements and predators and nesting habitat. Even large animals like deer and elk find shelter among mature stands of bitterbrush and sagebrush during winter storms. The animals hunker down under the shrubs, out of the wind and snow, to conserve precious body fat which they need to survive the lean winter months. Because of their deep-rooted structure, native shrubs provide for soil stabilization, reducing erosion. Please call 327-7099 to sign up to plant bitterbrush and sagebrush and to learn about other volunteer opportunities with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, including another habitat restoration project, Idaho Anadromous Outreach, beginning in April 2005.