Dear Washington State Legislators and Governor Jay Inslee,

Washington State’s shrub-steppe is in dire straits. After the Labor Day fires of 2020, over 800,000 acres were scorched in a landscape where habitat and significant agricultural land was already dwindling. Once covering over 10 million acres in Eastern Washington, 80 percent of historic shrub-steppe has been lost or degraded – the 2020 fires have left this landscape on the brink. It’s critical and urgent that we restore shrub-steppe habitats and create long-term resilience in this iconic Washington landscape.

We the undersigned organizations and individuals ask the State Legislature and Governor Inslee to support the Shrub-steppe Fire Recovery and Preparedness Proviso.

This proviso supports immediate, no-regret restoration actions that will help re-establish native flora and support recovery actions for imperiled species like the endangered pygmy rabbit and threatened Greater sage grouse. It will also aid in economic recovery by supporting landowners in replacing damaged rangeland fencing with updated wildlife-friendly infrastructure, while making hay available to ranchers to defer grazing, giving burned habitat the time it needs to fully recover.

Authentic collaboration is essential to the long-term health of this landscape and the people and wildlife who call it home. This proviso funds a key stakeholder process that will be tasked with identifying longer-term shrub-steppe and rangeland conservation needs, including recommendations for preventing devastating wildfires, responding to wildfire when it occurs, and implementing innovative recovery and restoration actions.

The Washingtonians who live, work, and play in this landscape know what a special place this is. The Shrub-steppe Fire Recovery and Preparedness Proviso will help us recover this landscape and chart a path towards long-term resilience.

Please fund the $2.35M operating and $1.5M capital budget asks and help our precious sagelands recover.

Thank you,