Volunteers got their hands dirty Sunday restoring critical habitat along the Boise River. Environmental groups and crews from Boise State are working to plant more than 200 native plant seedlings at the Intermountain Bird Observatory Boise River Research Station off of highway 21.
Invasive plants have gotten out of control in the area used heavily by the public for recreation and school field trips. The area is home to a variety of bird species. Crews hope their efforts will make it a better place for all wildlife.
"Seeds from weeds attach to peoples pants and pets and things like that and they get dispersed kind of by accident. So it wasn't anything intentional that anybody did in this area, it's just sort of long-term lack of folks paying attention and hopeful we're going to change that by paying attention to it a little bit," said Sean Finn of the Golden Eagle Audubon Society.
Organizers hope to plan more planting events in the future and say it could take years before the landscape returns to normal.
