Washington Shrub Steppe

Arid, but not quite desert, shrub steppe gets enough water to support grasses, shrubs and ground covers. Much of Washington's shrub steppe areas have been converted to rangeland or farming, but this section has been preserved for many years due to it's proximity to the Hanford Nuclear reservation. It is a habitat for several interesting and even endangered species like burrowing owls and pygmy rabbits, but being winter most of the critters have packed themselves away for the season (though that also means no rattlers out either), so we only spotted a few birds of prey from afar and one lone mule deer with binoculars, but we still got to experience a disappearing Washington landscape.