Although change is a natural part of landscapes, such a rapid change severely affected native wildlife of the region. Because so much of the shrub-steppe was converted to farmland and homesteads, soil erosion increased sharply, not only eroding the soil, but covering the land with blowing dust and increasing the amount of silt in local waters. Many animal habitats were reduced or eliminated. Ironically, as a result of the area's isolation from human disturbances such as plowing and grazing, the area is a refuge for disappearing plants in Washington. The ALE lands are much the same as they were when Lewis and Clark first visited the Columbia Basin in 1805.
Science is constructed of facts as a house is of stones.
But a collection of facts is no more a science than a heap of stones is a house. Take a bike ride, a walk, or a drive. In fall, flowering shrubs can be found throughout eastern Washington shrub-steppe lands. Yellow-blooming rabbitbrush and sagebrush are plentiful along the hiking and biking trail near the junction of Highway 182 and Road 68 near Pasco. A few bitterbrush shrubs also occur along the trail.