Volunteers Needed to Plant for Wildlife

Idaho Fish and Game needs volunteers to help plant thousands of sagebrush and bitterbrush seedlings during March on the Boise River Wildlife Management Area east of Boise, where a human-caused fire last summer burned critical winter range. The annual volunteer planting project will begin on Saturday, March 3. Subsequent planting projects will be conducted on March 10, 17, 24 and 31. Transportation and planting tools will be provided. Volunteers have planted upwards of a million bitterbrush and sagebrush seedlings during the past 22 years to restore native bitterbrush and sagebrush habitats in Southwest Idaho. In addition to saving the agency hundreds of thousands of dollars, volunteers have restored hundreds of acres of winter range. 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 from predators, while also providing nesting habitat for birds and small mammals. Animals as large as deer and elk find shelter among mature stands of bitterbrush and sagebrush during winter storms. Shrubs provide protection from wind and snow, allowing the animals 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. For more information regarding the planting project or to learn about other volunteer opportunities with Fish and Game, contact volunteer coordinator Michael Young at 327-7095 or michael.young@idfg.idaho.gov. Volunteer information is also available on the agency's website at http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/public/about/volunteer/