SRCI: Snake River Correctional Institution
Growing 57,760 native plants for Sage-grouse and monarch butterfly habitat.
- SRCI is a multi-security facility located in Ontario, Oregon; it is the largest prison in the state.
- A team of 5 – 20 inmates in the minimum security facility work on seed sowing, day to day care and planting out the sagebrush.
- A greenhouse and hoop house was constructed by DOC to grow and house the sagebrush.
- Institute for Applied Ecology partnered with the Vale BLM field office with the sagebrush project and plant-out.
- During 2014, SRCI piloted growing and planting 20,000 sagebrush.
- The project was so successful that in 2015, the prison increased production to 23,000 plants.
- The SRCI crew grew 40,000 plants in 2016.
- In 2017 the SRCI crew grew 50,000 sagebrush plants.
- In 2018 49,240 sagebrush plants were grown at SRCI.
- In 2019 SRCI grew 57,562 sagebrush and 198 milkweed plants.