Last August, lightning struck north of Emmett and sparked the Paddock Fire, a devastating wildfire that burned 180,000 acres, killed cattle and buildings and devastated the sagebrush landscape.
Ranchers in Gem County are still trying to recover from the fire, and the land will show scars for years to come. This area is where thousands of elk and mule deer come in winter, and the sagebrush and bitterbrush that keep them alive during the cold months burned up during the fire.
But Idaho Fish and Game is working to try and bring back the native shrubs that so many animals depend on and volunteers are helping them.
Michael Young is a regional wildlife habitat biologist with Idaho Fish and Game, and Grace Bullington is a Mule Deer Foundation partner biologist. Together with about 20 volunteers, they walked across the burn scar left behind by the fire and began planting more than 40 million native plant seeds.
Bullington says sagebrush is a winter staple for the deer.
"It's a very iconic species of the West, and sage grouse and lots of other species are very dependent on it for cover as well as food," she said.
And Young says bitterbrush is one of their favorite foods.
"It's like deer candy," he says.
As the volunteers gathered up bags of sagebrush seed they found that burned area is still a very surreal landscape.
"It looked like a moonscape up there. Everything's still black," said Young.
Bullington said the volunteers are very dedicated.
"This land is intertwined with our lives especially those living in southern Idaho."
She said they all have different reasons for giving up their time for the project.
"Every individual has a story of why they love this land so much, and so they just want to give back to it and help restore it when it's impacted by fire."
Grace says anyone can volunteer, whether for this restoration or for other Fish and Game projects.
