BOISE, Idaho — The Sagebrush in Prisons Project is helping restore sagebrush habitat near Boise, following the Plex Fire, which burned close to 500 acres near Micron. The project is a collaboration among the Idaho Department of Correction, Idaho Fish & Game, Bureau of Land Management, and Institute for Applied Ecology.
The planting took place on Wednesday at the Plex burn scar in southeast Boise and was directed by wildlife biologist Michael Young and supervised by Alyson Singer, Regional Project Manager for Sagebrush in Prisons Project.
The goal of the project is to engage incarcerated men and women in habitat restoration and ecological science, according to a press release.
Residents at South Boise Women’s Correctional Center have grown over 150,000 sagebrush seedlings for habitat improvement projects on public lands since 2015.
In conjunction with Idaho Fish & Game and the Institute for Applied Ecology, the 5 crew members from SBWCC, along with 5 resident volunteers planted several hundred seedlings onto the landscape. The outing was an opportunity for the crew to get outside of the prison setting and see, firsthand, where their plants are going.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
“Hopefully by the time we’re done in a few years, it’ll be green again,” says South Boise Women’s Correctional Center inmate Alisha Danielson.
Alisha Danielson is one of several incarcerated women at the South Boise Correctional Center planting more than 300 sagebrush seedlings at the site of September's 500-acre Plex Fire in southeast Boise.
"It's really burnt out here. I didn't realize how bad it is," says Danielson.
Alisha has been serving time since March and has been cultivating these sagebrush seedlings for months. Now, she’s seeing their work take root.
The Sagebrush in Prisons Project gives women like Alisha the opportunity to step outside prison walls and contribute to the restoration of Idaho’s wildlife habitat.
This is the project’s first planting event since 2018, but for Alisha, it’s months of hard work paying off.
“I was the lead from April all the way till now, so we have another week after this to box up about 20,000 plants. I got a lot of volunteer hours, and it’s just been really, really great,” says Danielson.
The women at the South Boise facility have grown more than 150,000 sagebrush seedlings since 2015, supporting Idaho’s ecosystem.
The sagebrush is crucial for wildlife in the winter and offers inmates a sense of purpose and practical skills they can take beyond their time in prison.
“It’s a really special opportunity for South Boise to be able to come out here and see the plants they’ve actually started from seeds get into the ground to restore the habitat,” says Alyson Singer with the Institute for Applied Ecology.
As Alisha nears the end of her sentence, she’ll walk away with new skills, job references, and a fresh outlook as she prepares to re-enter society.
“The Department of Ecology, they’re really great. They gave me a reference for jobs. It’s just been really great. I only have two more weeks, and I’m leaving five days after we box up the plants,” says Danielson.
“I’m so grateful to be able to have worked with them and taught them. We really worked together as a unit, and we’re all so happy to be here together,” says Singer.
