Hanford Reach Wildflowers

Rattlesnake Mountain at Hanford Reach                                                                © Diane B. Reed

An hour and a half northwest of Walla Walla, you'll find one of the most remote places in Washington, Hanford Reach National Monument. The Reach was part of the original land acquired as a buffer for the Manhattan Project in 1943. It includes several different "Units" which surround the Hanford Site. The Monument, 196,000 acres, includes some of the last shrub-steppe habitat in the state. Parts of the Monument are open to the public, but much of it is not accessible to the public. However, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offers occasional tours for a limited number of people. This spring they offered a lottery for a tour of the Fitzer/Eberhardt Arid Lands Ecology Reserve to view the spring wildflowers. We felt very lucky to get seats on the small bus for the three-hour tour.

Balsamroot at Hanford Reach                                        © Diane B. Reed

It was a windy day, with rain showers skirting the reserve, but we were able to see Rattlesnake Springs and remnants of ranches that predate 1943. To lessen the impact on the site, the bus stopped in two locations that are not culturally sensitive, and we had an opportunity to see the spring wildflowers.

Wild Phlox                                                                              © Diane B. Reed

 Over the next few weeks the lupine will come into full flower, a few were just beginning to bloom. These are just a few of the flowers that dot the shrub-steppe. If you were driving past the field you might miss some of these tucked into the sagebrush.


For more information on the Reach, visit
http://www.fws.gov/refuge/Hanford_Reach

Lomatium gone to seed                                                           © Diane B. Reed

Piper's Fleabane                                                                                              © Diane B. Reed