Palouse CD takes steps to protect native plants

Native plants are almost extinct on the Palouse, but the Palouse Conservation District hopes to remedy that.

Conservation District Manager Jennifer Boie said that the district is in the second part of a three-phase process of identifying potential prairie remnants in Whitman County. She said Latah County has gone through a similar process.

“Any native plants in the Palouse Conservation District area is determined with aerial photos and natural agricultural imagery,” Boie said.

The second phase in the project is sending informational packets to more than 1,200 landowners in Whitman County who might have Palouse Prairie remnants.

“We just want them to be aware,” she said. “We want them to know what it is and why it’s important because less than one percent of the prairie remains.”

She said the district has a botantist who can assist landowners with goals.

“This is all voluntary,” she said. “We are here as a resource.”

She also said there is no restriction on land use if native plants are identified on parcels of land. Maps are included in the packets with native prairie parcels marked on the maps.

Funding for the program comes from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The third phase includes actual inventory of the prairie and the district is researching funding for the final phase, she said.

The Palouse Prairie Foundation also is providing some educational materials for the district.

Boie said it’s important for landowners to return the post card to the district for the botanist to identify plants as they are blooming.

Boie suggests anyone who receives a packet and has questions to contact the conservation district office.