The value of sagebrush: It’s the West’s old growth providing habitat for unique species

Driving from Utah to run Idaho’s whitewater rivers a decade ago, Jennifer Forbey dismissed the sagebrush that lined Interstate 84 as ugly. Since then, however, the Boise State University biology professor has fallen in love with an ecosystem that is iconic to the West. “The way I see sagebrush is as a rugged survivor,” said Forbey, while leading a reporter through a thick stand in Boise’s Foothills. Forbey has gotten to know sagebrush well through her studies of the sage grouse and pygmy rabbit, which actually feed on the bitter-tasting, toxic plant. Her research shows that these two species are completely dependent on sagebrush during the winter and have the ability to find the plants that are least toxic and have more protein and other nutrients. “Sagebrush survives partially through chemistry,” Forbey said. “Chemistry protects it from heat, ultraviolet light and those animals that would eat it.” But its chemistry has not protected it from human development over the past 150 years...more