Central Washington’s shrub-steppe or “sagelands” are often overlooked, compared to mountains like the Cascades. Yet, this gentle landscape is rich with flora and fauna, some unique to our state, vibrant communities, and endless opportunities for outdoor recreation. It’s also an important connectivity corridor for species adapting to climate change, especially a “Connected Backbone” running north-south east of the Cascade Mountains. But this landscape is fragmented by development, highways, and other barriers, threatening sensitive wildlife such as sage grouse, bighorn sheep and pygmy rabbits.

Through our Sagelands Heritage Program, we’re working with the state, private landowners, tribes and other partners to maintain, restore and connect shrub-steppe landscapes from British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley to south-central Washington’s Horse Heaven Hills for the good of both wildlife and people.

We’ve also been working to bridge a critical piece of this landscape through the Safe Passage 97 project for wildlife crossings in the Okanogan Valley. Tune into our upcoming online event to learn more!

Hear from our Sagelands Program Lead Jay Kehne, Communications Director Chase Gunnell, and Development Director Matthew Brouwer about our Sagelands Heritage Program and the local community support that makes this vital work possible. We’ll also announce an exciting Safe Passage 97 update worth raising a glass to, so please join us with your favorite beverage and register today!

There will be a chance for Q&A on this shrub-steppe landscape and our Sagelands Heritage Program at the end, so bring your questions for our experts to answer. Check out our webpage to learn more in advance: www.conservationnw.org/sagelands

This event will be in webinar format through Zoom. Once registered, you’ll receive an email confirmation with a Zoom link to join the webinar. The recording will later be shared via YouTube.

Restoring and connecting Washington's Sagelands