Idaho Inmates Grow 57,000 Sagebrush Seedlings This Year for Wildfire Habitat Restoration Under the Sagebrush in Prisons Project
Kuna, Idaho — Participants at the Idaho State Correctional Center (ISCC) grew and harvested 57,000 sagebrush seedlings this year under the Sagebrush in Prisons Project, the Idaho Department of Correction said. The native plants will be used in habitat restoration projects, including areas recovering from wildfire.
The project is a partnership with the Institute for Applied Ecology, the Bureau of Land Management and Idaho Fish & Game, and also runs at the South Boise Women's Correctional Center (SBWCC). Sagebrush steppe is the signature ecosystem of the Great Basin in the American West and provides habitat for wildlife such as the greater sage-grouse; wildfire and invasive grasses have degraded large areas, making nursery-grown seedlings a key tool for post-fire recovery.
The department said participants learn horticulture and restoration skills while growing the plants, and the harvested seedlings are handed to partner agencies for restoration planting. Similar prison-based ecological restoration nurseries operate in several western states, combining land recovery with vocational training for incarcerated people.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 爱达荷州的山艾树草原。图：USFWS - Pacific Region，Wikimedia Commons，Public domain。 / Sagebrush steppe in Idaho. Photo by USFWS - Pacific Region, via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
