- Saving the Sagebrush in Prisons Project
The Institute for Applied Ecology is thankful for support of our Sagebrush in Prisons Project, with over $35,000 in private donations bridging a crucial gap in funding in 2018. With these private contributions and funding from the Bureau of Land Management, Collins Foundation, Oregon Community Foundation, and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, we were able to save the project! The project engaged 468 inmates in seven prisons in Oregon, Nevada, and Idaho, with a total of 178 inmates receiving certificates in 2018. This project rehabilitates critical Greater Sage-Grouse habitat and provides vocational training for inmates. Ecological Education Program Director Stacy Moore was recognized with a Difference Maker Award from TIAA, a nationwide financial institution, for her tireless work on this project. As an outgrowth of this project, IAE’s Southwest office in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is initiating a Nature in Prisons project to engage inmates in habitat restoration in the region.
As an organization, we value communication of our scientific research findings. When not collecting data, our hardworking staff can be found collaborating on projects and sharing their results in peer-reviewed journal articles. In 2018, we published papers on these topics:
Taking a look back on our 2018 milestones reinvigorates us to accomplish even more for our 20th anniversary year! We hope you’ll join us as a volunteer, as a member/donor, or at the Cook-off or hike. Thank you for being a voice for the silent native ecosystems that support us all.
