In this 4-minute video, learn how state prisons across the West, along with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Institute for Applied Ecology, are working to combat sagebrush habitat loss and restore the greater sage-grouse population.
The BLM collects seed in the area where plants will eventually be planted. They give the seed to Institute for Applied Ecology staff, who sow the seed with incarcerated individuals at regional prisons.
Shawn Virgillo, a program participant, notes:
“When I don’t keep busy, I get all stressed out thinking about home, thinking about my kids. It is very therapeutic.”
Participant Mitchell Thomas shares:
“To give back to the world, I feel is a highlight for me. This is the kind of stuff that my daughters like to do. This kind of reminds me of being with them. But that’s also probably the hardest part–not being with them.”
At the time of the video’s creation in 2020, the project had planted over 450,000 sagebrush plants with ten prisons.