Inmates grow sagebrush to restore sage grouse habitat

Inmates prepare sagebrush seedlings for transplanting

Inmates at Idaho State Correctional Center have turned over thousands of sagebrush plants to the Bureau of Land Management.

The plants will be used to restore sage grouse habitat that wildfires destroyed around Table Rock near Boise and in the Twin Falls.

The inmates started growing the plants from seed last spring. 

The BLM funds the project. The Institute for Applied Ecology coordinates the inmates’ efforts.

Inmates at the South Boise Women’s Correctional Center and the Correctional Alternative Placement program also participate in the program. Both facilities are south of Boise.

“There’s much more to this project than growing sagebrush,” says ISCC Warden Randy Blades. “It helps prepare inmates for their release by giving them the opportunity to feel the satisfaction that comes from working hard on a job that benefits the community.”