Take action for wildfire recovery in Washington’s shrub-steppe

WILD NW Action Alert #315: Show your support for shrub-steppe recovery funding in the 2021 state budget.

Washington’s sagelands, often overlooked compared to mountains like the Cascades, are rich in biodiversity, with vibrant communities and poignant beauty. Eighty percent of our state’s shrub-steppe, historically covering more than 10 million acres, have been lost to development or degraded. And after last summer’s fires, this delicate landscape is on the brink.

Contact your lawmakers and ask them to support recovery funding today!

The 2020 Labor Day weekend fires burned more than 800,000 acres of shrub-steppe, leaving now bare soil vulnerable to invasive plants and grasses. Today, Washington’s sagelands are left with only half of its pygmy rabbit population, and biologists estimate the fires will also result in at least a 50 percent decline in the state’s sage grouse population—both species already highly at-risk in Washington.

Our Sagelands Program Lead Jay Kehne has been working with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington Audubon, the  Arid Lands Initiative, The Nature Conservancy, and other allies on behalf of a funding proviso to support wildfire recovery and other habitat restoration efforts in central Washington’s shrub-steppe.

State Senator Judy Warnick has proposed a Shrub-Steppe Fire Recovery and Preparedness Proviso totaling $3.85 million in state funding to support habitat restoration, wildlife and collaboration with local communities.

This includes $1.5 million in the capital budget for partnering with landowners to replace burnt fences with wildlife-friendly fencing that supports species such as pronghorn antelope and sage grouse, as well as $2.3 million in the operating budget for on-the-ground restoration efforts such as sagebrush reseeding, and a hay supply program for ranchers to help defer cattle grazing on sensitive range lands burned during 2020 wildfires.

Learn more about what makes this landscape so special in our recent short film produced with WDFW, “This Land Is Part of Us”.

This funding proviso would support essential recovery efforts for the state’s at-risk shrub-steppe species, help prevent the devastating effects of severe wildfires, and create local restoration jobs for communities living in and around Washington’s sagelands. Our state legislature must pass this proposal to help restore a resilient shrub-steppe ecosystem!

Use our simple form to contact your legislators and ask them to support the Shrub-Steppe Fire Recovery and Preparedness Proviso! Our suggested comments are also copied below.

You can also learn more in this fact sheet from the WDFW.

 

Suggested comments to legislators requesting their support for shrub-steppe recovery:

 

Dear Legislator,

As your constituent, I am writing to ask that you support the Shrub-Steppe Fire Recovery and Preparedness Proviso. Our iconic, ecologically-rich sagelands are in dire straits, and this funding is needed to recover this landscape and alleviate the disastrous impacts from last summer’s fires, as well as create long-term resilience in the future.

The 2020 Labor Day weekend fires burned more than 800,000 acres of shrub-steppe, devastating local communities and leaving our precious sagelands with only half of its pygmy rabbit and sage grouse population—both species already highly at-risk in Washington.

The proviso includes $1.5 million in the capital budget for partnering with landowners to replace burnt fences with wildlife-friendly fencing that supports species such as pronghorn antelope and sage grouse, as well as $2.3 million in the operating budget for on-the-ground restoration efforts such as sagebrush reseeding, and a hay supply program for ranchers to help defer cattle grazing on sensitive range lands burned during 2020 wildfires.

This funding would also support a stakeholder planning process to identify long-term conservation needs for Washington’s shrub-steppe, including recommendations for preventing devastating wildfires, fire response, and innovative recovery and restoration actions. Overall, it will support essential recovery efforts for the state’s at-risk shrub-steppe species, help prevent the devastating effects of severe wildfires, and create local restoration jobs for communities living in and around Washington’s sagelands.

As a Washingtonian who cares deeply for our state’s sagelands, I ask that you please fund the $2.35M operating and $1.5M capital budget asks and help our precious sagelands recover.

Sincerely,

Your name here

 

THANK YOU FOR TAKING ACTION! LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PROVISO HERE, OR CHECK OUT OUR SAGELANDS HERITAGE PROGRAM.