Ferruginous Hawk

This species of hawk breeds and rears their young in the Horse Heaven Hills. Fish & Wildlife (WDFW) list them as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need. They were just added to the WDFW’s Endangered Species List. The population in Washington State is low due to habitat loss (shrub-steppe and grasslands), prey declines of jack rabbits (white and black tailed both appear on the WDFW’s Threatened and Endangered Species list) and ground squirrels, as well as direct sources of mortality: illegal shooting, electrocusion from power lines, and collision with wind turbines. Photo Credit: Wolfer, allaboutbirds.org View the full list of Threatened and Endangered Species.

Ground Squirrels

Ground Squirrel numbers are low and the Townsend’s Ground Squirrel, listed as moderate to high risk according to Washington Fish & Wildlife, is just one small mammal that calls the shrub-steppe home. Ground squirrels, like Townsend’s Ground Squirrels, burrow and their abandoned homes provide shelter for the burrowing owl and other creatures on the shrub-steppe. They are also a preferred food of the recently endangered Ferruginous Hawk (see above). Photo Credit: Belding Ground Squirrel, Gary Wing

Burrowing Owls

Populations of burrowing owls are low in Washington State according to Fish & Wildlife. This is due to loss of habitat (shrub-steppe and grasslands)and mammalian species that provide earthen burrows as they do not dig their own, but rely on the abandoned burrows of animals like the Townsend’s Ground Squirrel. Burrowing owls are sensitive to noise during breeding and need habitat free of industrial noise pollution to flourish. They are listed as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need as well as a priority species under Washington’s Department of Fish & Wildlife’s Priority Habitat and Species Program. Photo Credit: Neil Fisher, NeilFisher.com

Sandhill Cranes

Sandhill Cranes are listed as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need as well as a priority species under Washington’s Department of Fish & Wildlife’s Priority Habitat and Species Program. And are currently a member of the Endangered Species list. They are very sensitive to environmental changes that cause nest abandonment, and prefer feeding in agricultural areas while nesting in wetlands near open water. The Horse Heaven Hills are frequently flown over by Sandhill cranes during migration given their proximity to three rivers and associated wetlands. Read about their migration patern and Washington State’s Recovery Plan here. Photo Credit: Jim Cummins

Black-tailed Jackrabbit

Black-tailed Jackrabbits are listed as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need as well as a priority species under Washington’s Department of Fish & Wildlife’s Priority Habitat and Species Program. They also provide food for the endangered Ferruginous Hawk and other large raptors in the Horse Heaven Hills. Photo Credit: National Park Service.

White-tailed Jackrabbit

White-tailed Jackrabbits are listed as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need as well as a priority species under Washington’s Department of Fish & Wildlife’s Priority Habitat and Species Program. They also provide food for the endangered Ferruginous Hawk and other large raptors in the Horse Heaven Hills. Photo Credit: Tom Koehner, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

Thanks to efforts to reintroduce pronghorn by the Yakama Nation, the Central Washington Chapter of Safari Club International, many volunteers in south-central Washington, and the Colville Confederated Tribes, more than 250 roam the shrub-steppe in south-central Washington; some can be found in the Horse Heaven Hills in Benton County. Their numbers are slowly increasing. Their diet includes sagebrush, rabbitbrush, and grasses. Photo & Source Credit: Yakima Herald, Wildlife Moment: Fleet-of-foot pronghorns return to Washington, June 30, 2021.

Pronghorns

Pollinators

Pollinators, such as Bumble bees, butterflies and other insectis, and bats, such as the Townsend’s Big-eared Bat, are all important contributors to a healthy shrub and grasslands ecosystem. Photo Credit: Gary Wing

Shrub-steppe

Shrub-steppe protection is part of the Arid Lands Initiative informing local cities and counties of areas of greatest conservation need by Fish & Wildlife. Photo Credit: John Clement. A beautiful 11 minute documentary on our shrub-steppe was created by WA Fish & Wildlife and Conservation Northwest. Watch it here.

Native Plants

Native plants in the Shrub-steppe. A unique, beautiful, and diverse ecosystem. The Washington Native Plant Society refers to this system as, “Shrubs, such as hopsage, greasewood, and bitterbrush; and steppe or perrenial bunchgrasses.” But it is the iconic native wildflowers, such as the western sunflower, and desert lupine that many look forward to each Spring. Photo Credit: John Clement