Pygmy Rabbits
Protecting one of Washington’s rarest species by restoring sagebrush habitat and supporting the long-term recovery of the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit through science-based management and partnerships.
Our Approach
Surviving in only a handful of reestablished sites, the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit remains one of Washington’s most vulnerable species.
After millennia of isolation, the Washington’s pygmy rabbit population collapsed to just a few dozen individuals in the early 2000s. Today, it continues to face threats from habitat loss, fragmentation, predation, wildfire, and disease. Recovery depends on improving shrub‑steppe habitat, strengthening wild‑breeding success, protecting rabbits during early burrow establishment, and preventing disease outbreaks that could erase years of progress.
We support this work by providing funding, equipment, volunteer coordination, and advocacy that bolsters on‑the‑ground efforts led by state and federal partners to recover this uniquely local species.
Current Focus
Work We’re Doing to Achieve Pygmy Rabbits Goals
Habitat Recovery
We advance pygmy rabbit recovery by protecting and restoring the sagebrush ecosystems that form the core of the species’ remaining habitat in Washington.
Through our Sagelands Heritage Program, we work to maintain, reconnect, and improve shrub steppe landscapes across the Columbia Basin, focusing on areas where dense, mature sagebrush can support long term population growth. We also support on the ground recovery actions with WDFW and other partners, including assisting with health checks, tagging, and monitoring of released rabbits.
Our advocacy helps maintain strong endangered species protections and ensures that habitat management aligns with recovery needs.
Monitoring Wildlife
We regularly convene volunteer survey teams near Ephrata and other central Washington sites to search for tracks, burrows, and pellets; data that informs DNA analysis, population estimates, and future release strategies.
These efforts expand monitoring capacity while building public support for shrub steppe conservation. By combining habitat restoration, direct recovery support, and volunteer engagement, we help stabilize and grow pygmy rabbit populations in alignment with state and federal recovery partners.
Our long term focus is on restoring connected sagebrush ecosystems so pygmy rabbits and other shrub steppe species can persist across their historic range.
Impact & Results
A History of Pygmy Rabbits
Pygmy rabbit recovery in Washington has evolved through coordinated efforts to restore habitat, improve monitoring capacity, and support reintroduction work across the Columbia Basin.
Enhancing and expanding recovery areas
Conducting comprehensive surveys and field operations
Providing essential equipment and advancing monitoring tools
Enhancing and expanding recovery areas
Staff help identify, prepare, and improve suitable recovery sites by providing technical feedback, funding, and direct field support that strengthens habitat conditions for successful reintroduction.
Conducting comprehensive surveys and field operations
SHP staff assist with monitoring and trapping, coordinate year round surveys, and work with CNW volunteers to construct enclosures that support safe holding and successful releases back into the wild.
Providing essential equipment and advancing monitoring tools
The program supplies wildlife cameras, radios, GPS units, and other critical field gear for pygmy rabbit monitoring, while also supporting the development and deployment of advanced tools such as PIT tag readers expected to be operational by March 2026.
Impact & Results
Our Key Accomplishments for Pygmy Rabbits
From protecting critical landscapes to advancing collaborative forest restoration, these efforts deliver lasting benefits for wildlife, habitat connectivity, and climate resilience.
Population Recovery
Rebuilding a wild population after near extirpation
The Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit recovery effort has rebuilt a wild population from near extirpation, following the early 2000s collapse that left only a few dozen genetically distinct rabbits in Washington.
Reintroduction Sites
Expanding recovery through managed release sites
State and federal partners have reestablished multiple release sites across the Columbia Basin, combining captive breeding, soft release pens, predator management, and intensive monitoring to improve early survival and burrow establishment.
Habitat Restoration
Restoring sagebrush landscapes for long-term recovery
Habitat restoration has expanded across key shrub steppe landscapes, with partners improving sagebrush cover, enhancing forbs and grasses, and reducing fragmentation to support long term persistence.
Health & Genetics
Protecting population health and genetic diversity
Disease prevention and genetic management remain central to the program, with agencies coordinating vaccination, health screening, and genetic mixing strategies to maintain a resilient population.
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