Rock Island Creek in early Spring, Badger Mountain Plateau.

Lupinus lepidus (Prairie Lupine), Balsamorhiza hookeri (Hooker's balsamroot) and Poa secunda (Sandberg's bluegrass) blooming in spring. Much of Central Washington's shrub steppe has been saved from overgrazing by cattle not by conciencious choice or conservation methods, but by economics. When settlers moved to this part of the country, much of the lands along the Columbia River and its tributaries was ideal for growing fruit and the Columbia River provided virually limitless irrigation possibilities. The Columbia Plateau itself, although much of it was rocky, provided opportunities for other forms of agriculture, namely wheat and potatoes. When the first settlers arrived, livestock was an important part of everyday life and survival. As time progressed and more people settled, produce and agricultural crops instead on ranching, became an increasingly important and economically viable means of making a living. Today there are still the endless wheatfields and expansive orchards, and although counter to some environmentalists beliefs, these prominent industries, have saved Eastern Washington shrub-steppe from the same fate much of western rangelands are now in.

There are few publicly owned shrub steppe lands in Eastern Washington, and privately owned lands are increasingly being subdivided and developed. These lands, once saved from overpopulations of cows, still have to contend with overpopulations of people.