Fast Facts: Adams and Walla Walla Counties have lost over 75% of their historic shrubsteppe. Washington’s largest remaining block of shrubsteppe is comprised of the Hanford Site and the Yakima Training Center. Cooperators on the project include the WA Dept. of Natural Resources, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and Battelle-Pacific Northwest Laboratory. Related Links: Priority Habitats and Species WA State Species of Concern Bird Monitoring in North America Washington Breeding Bird Atlas

Before the arrival of European settlers in the 1800's, shrubsteppe habitats covered over 10 million acres in eastern Washington. These arid-land systems support unique wildlife communities, including species of concern, such as the sage sparrow, sage grouse, and pygmy rabbit, that occur only in shrubsteppe. Most of Washington's shrubsteppe habitats have been converted to agriculture and only about 40% of the State's historic shrubsteppe remains. In addition to this reduction in extent, much of the remaining shrubsteppe is highly fragmented, occurring as small blocks surrounded by a sea of agricultural fields and suburban development. Few large expanses of shrubsteppe remain as refugia for shrubsteppe-dependent wildlife. In 1996, WDFW began the Shrubsteppe Fragmentation Study to examine whether fragmentation of shrubsteppe in Washington is having adverse effects on our native bird communities. We are measuring the reproductive success of birds using fragmented vs. extensive shrubsteppe landscapes, using extensive nest searches and by color-banding individual birds. Information gained from this research will help us to understand how shrubsteppe bird communities are fairing in the present, human-altered landscape of eastern Washington.

Sage Sparrows Require Unfragmented Shrubsteppe Habitat Burrowing Owls Nest in Underground Burrows in Washington's Shrubsteppe

Contact wildthing@dfw.wa.gov for more information about research.