Volunteer Bitterbrush Planting Begins Soon

Got the wintertime blues? Need to breathe some fresh air and get some good exercise? Want to get outside and welcome in spring? Meet some new people? Do good deeds? Search no longer for a way to do all of the above and help wildlife also! Call the Idaho Department of Fish and Game at 327-7099 and sign up to plant bitterbrush on a Saturday or two in March. The annual volunteer bitterbrush planting project begins March 1 and continues every Saturday in the month. "Each March, hundreds of community-spirited people plant thousands of bitterbrush seedlings, a huge job we simply could not accomplish without volunteers," Fish and Game volunteer coordinator Mary Dudley said. "We typically plant around 30,000 seedlings during March, which is a heck of a lot of plants! Volunteers provide a bona-fide workforce that enables us to take on complex habitat restoration projects every year." Why plant bitterbrush? The native shrub is an important component of big game winter ranges in Idaho and throughout the West. Besides being an essential food source for deer, elk and other wildlife, bitterbrush provides cover from the elements, protection from 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 its deep-rooted structure, bitterbrush and other native shrubs provide for soil stabilization, reducing erosion. In addition to all of its beneficial attributes, bitterbrush blossoms with thousands of exceptionally fragrant yellow flowers each spring. "Next time you're driving down a road next to bitterbrush stands when they're flowering, open up your windows and a wonderful sweet fragrance will fill the inside of your car!" Dudley explained. Look for bitterbrush in bloom in May and early June in southwest Idaho. To learn more about other Fish and Game volunteer opportunities call 327-7099.