Sagebrush birds tell us it’s time to act.

The shrub-steppe is an iconic arid land ecosystem of shrubs, grasses, and wildflowers native to the western United States. This unique landscape, sometimes called the “sagebrush sea,” covers millions of acres of Eastern Washington’s Columbia Plateau, sustaining a rich diversity of plants, birds, and other wildlife. Unfortunately, threats to this ecosystem are putting bird species and the communities that rely upon it at risk. Without immediate and aggressive action to rehabilitate these areas and improve ecosystem resilience, species like the state-endangered Greater Sage-grouse are unlikely to persist in Washington. 

Audubon Washington’s shrub-steppe conservation program leverages the power of birds—along with Audubon’s unique organizational structure—to pursue actions at the local, state, and federal level that benefit ecosystem health. We do this by bringing together the grassroots advocacy strength of our eight Eastern Washington chapters with the policy, science, and conservation expertise of our state and national offices towards shared goals for shrub-steppe conservation. Audubon’s shrub-steppe program addresses urgent landscape-level conservation needs that will have a lasting impact on the well-being of wildlife, people, and the ecological health of the region.