An artistic view of central Washington, viewed from the Columbia River westward, up and over the Cascade Mountains
East-side Overview:
What’s In A Name: Why Our Region Has So Many Names for the Plant Communities, by Susan Ballinger
North Central WA map East to West view Take a look at this artist created aerial view from a different perspective, looking from the Columbia River in the east, westward, up and over the Cascade Mountains.
Watch this 12-minute This Land Is Part of Us about Washington’s shrub-steppe ecosystems, produced by WA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife and Conservation Northwest
The Sagebush Sea PBS film, a 3-year collaboration project with Cornell Lab. View the entire 41-minute film
Shrub-steppe: Washington’s Disappearing Sea by Joe Rocchio. This is a well-written blog overview of the shrub-steppe ecosystem, with some good photographs.
This locally produced video Nature of North Central Washington explores the natural systems and species that characterize the alpine, coniferous forest, shrub steppe and freshwater habitats of the north central region of Washington State. This video was locally produced in 2007 by Nancy Warner, for the Initiative for Rural Innovation and Stewardship (IRIS).
Eastside WA Plant Communities classification by Susan Ballinger. Six different field guide authors describe Eastern Washington’s plant communities from a variety of perspectives using slightly different vocabulary, which are summarized in this single-page table.
The Wenatchee Mountains by Arthur Kruckeberg and Coleman Leuthy A re-print of an excellent article introducing the unique plant communities in the Wenatchee Mountains, excerpted from the Bulletin of the American Rock Garden Society, Summer 1991.
Introduction to Wenatchee Naturalist course and to the Wenatchee Watershed Eco-region
Watch Susan’s You-Tube video filmed from the summit of Cashmere Mountain to see the Wenatchee Watershed.
Dig Deeper:
Washington Dept. of Natural Resources Natural Heritage Program provides technical publications for all the Ecological Systems which occur in the State of Washington. Visit the Natural Heritage Program to learn more about state-protected plants and ecosystems.
Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife publish a State Wildlife Action Plan on a 10-year cycle. It includes descriptions of conservation targets for designated special species and habitats.