One Million Sagebrush Seedlings to be Planted by Fall 2015 in BLM Idaho Twin Falls District

Photo and caption from: One Million Sagebrush Seedlings to be Planted by Fall 2015… | Flickr

Each year there are countless stories depicting the devastating effects of wildfire, and the impacts it has on the land and resources that rely on this land. What often flies under the radar is the rehabilitation and restoration work that immediately ramps up following fire season.

It’s work that has a fast approaching deadline of winter, and a narrow window of opportunity in the spring. It takes a great deal of planning and a tremendous amount of on-the-ground planting. The goals are lofty – reaching new heights year after year, boiling down to incredible numbers of seedlings planted and thousands of acres rehabilitated. And it’s all in the name of rangeland health. It is critical to rehabilitate fire scars to combat the potential invasion of cheat grass, and begin to restore the ever important sage-grouse habitat.

It’s almost hard to envision – planting a million seedlings in just a year’s time, but that goal is exactly what the Twin Falls District’s fuels crew will achieve this year. By the end of this fall, over a million seedlings will have been planted, rehabilitating 49,066 acres across the District.

Photo by BLM Idaho.