Volunteers Needed to Plant for Wildlife

Thousands of sagebrush and bitterbrush seedlings are scheduled to be planted in the weeks ahead on the Boise River Wildlife Management Area east of Boise. Idaho Fish and Game is asking for volunteers to help with the effort. Saturday, March 7, marks the first day of the annual volunteer native shrub restoration project. Subsequent planting efforts will be on March 14, 21, 28 and April 4. Transportation and all planting tools will be provided. For more information regarding the planting project, or to learn about other volunteer opportunities with Fish and Game, call 327-7095. Volunteer information is also available on the agency's website at http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/about/volunteer/southwest.cfm. Volunteers have planted hundreds of thousands of bitterbrush and sagebrush seedlings during the past twenty years to restore native bitterbrush and sagebrush habitats in Southwest Idaho. In the process, they've saved the agency hundreds of thousands of dollars. "Volunteers make large-scale native habitat restoration projects possible by providing the workforce to plant," Fish and Game volunteer coordinator Mary Dudley said. "And volunteers make an otherwise daunting project fun and satisfying." Bitterbrush and sagebrush - both 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.