A partnership created in 2016 by the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality’s Abandoned Mine Lands Division, and the Bureau of Land Management is helping to re-establish sagebrush and other native species on reclaimed abandoned mine lands throughout the state. The program has been a big success.
Working with six inmates from the Department of Corrections at Wyoming’s Honors Farm, over 30,000 sagebrush seedlings were grown in a greenhouse and readied for replanting.
Gina Clingerman, archeologist, and project manager, pointed out why this is such a critical program. She said, sagebrush is crucial for the survival of sage-grouse and added that the plant also plays an important role for many species, including mule deer and pronghorn.
The Sagebrush in Prisons Project taught Honor Farm inmates to grow seedlings and since then, they have grown a total of 85000 for restoration projects in Wyoming and Idaho.
Additionally, DEQ and the BLM organized two days for ten inmates to pick sagebrush seeds for the coming year’s program. This will be the first year of growing seedlings in the greenhouse from seeds the inmates have collected themselves.
In October thousands of seedlings were transplanted to abandoned mining lands with the help of more than a hundred Lander Middle School students.
Clingerman said It was exciting to see the progress of the program.
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