Volunteers Spread the Seeds of Rehabilitation

Whatever happened to the record amount of sagebrush seed gathered by nearly 1,000 volunteers last winter? At the Lucky Peak Forest Nursery near Boise, Forest Service gardener Carole Doramus had never seen anything like this - nearly seven times the amount of sagebrush seeds than in years past. "This year probably 3,500," Doramus said, "last year we had maybe 500 or 600 pounds." The seed's origins are carefully documented and much like a dry cleaners, the tag never leaves the seed because there is an added value to the fact that the sage seed is already locally adapted. The seed is dried for four days in ninety-degree heat and then cleaned with a machine called a scalper. "It has two screens, a larger screen on top with holes in it that the seed falls through. And then the smaller dirt and blooms go through and sticks go off the top of it," Doramus said. The Murphy Complex fire last summer was Idaho's biggest wildfire in 97 years, burning 593,000 acres of wildlife habitat and rangeland on the Idaho-Nevada border. Aerial seeding is by far the most efficient way to reach some of the more remote areas scorched by fire. The idea is to get the seed on the ground while there is snow cover to prevent wind erosion. Unlike some other native species, sagebrush does not re-sprout after fire. But it is a vital component of this steppe habitat - the first element in a critical food chain that affects the survival of a wide variety of wildlife. "Any animals that rely on sagebrush throughout the year as part of their habitat are going to benefit from this," said Mark Fleming, Fish and Game habitat manager. "If you've been out here in the sagebrush country you're going to see animals like sage grouse, antelope, mule deer, and all kinds of small birds and mammals that live in those types of communities. More than 280,000 acres were seeded during two weeks of flying. On the ground, nearly 70,000 acres were drill-seeded with a grass and forbs seed mix. But it will take years, if not decades to bring back the area to prefire conditions. So this is only the first step in a long process. For related online video on this and other issues please go to http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/news/video/.