Sagebrush steppe habitats in the western United States are important for wildflowers, wildlife and for rangeland agriculture. Degradation of these systems generally involves the loss of native grasses and wildflowers and increased dominance of non-native plants. Invasion by plants like cheatgrass is closely linked to more frequent and larger wildfires which can result in the practical elimination of shrubs. This vicious circle of increased invasive species and increased fire leads to the conversion of diverse and productive landscapes into areas with little habitat value.

The Hanford Reach National Monument was established in 2000 to protect some of the most extensive shrubland habitats in Washington. The Fitzner-Eberhardt Arid Lands Ecology Reserve (the ALE Reserve), a 77,000 acre portion of the National Monument, comprised the highest quality examples of shrub steppe remaining in the state at the time.

Virtually all of the ALE Reserve burned in 2000 in the 24 Command Fire (27 June - 2 July 2000), which consumed 163,000 acres. This fire was by far the largest and most severe to have burned in this area in recorded history. Fortuitously, a large number of permanent vegetation plots had been established in the 1990s in and around the ALE Reserve. Re-sampling of these plots in 2001-2004 helped managers understand the impacts of the 2000 fire on the vegetation of the ALE Reserve. In addition, restoration seeding and shrub planting treatments were carried out and the effects of these treatments were evaluated through 2004 on newly established permanent plots. Amongst other things, this work documented the almost complete loss of the shrublands that once dominated the ALE Reserve.

In August 2007 two fires, the Milepost 17 Fire (13 August 2007) and the Wautoma Command Fire (16-17 August 2007), burned across the ALE Reserve and surrounding lands, together blackening approximately 77,000 acres of shrub steppe. This second fire may accelerate the changes seen after the 2000 fire. Documenting the impacts of these fires is critical if the management of the National Monument is to successfully attain their goals to conserve and restore the plants, animals and shrub-steppe and other upland habitats native to the Columbia Basin. The permanent vegetation plots provide an outstanding opportunity to examine the effects of repeated fires on shrubland habitats, and may provide valuable insights into the nature of long-term changes that these frequent, large fires may be causing. The results of the study will provide land managers with extensive, on-site information about the nature of changes in vegetation that have occurred over the last two decades and after two large fires. This information will supply data for evaluating the success of previous rehabilitation efforts, and help guide decisions regarding future post-fire management actions. These results will be of use to a broad spectrum of land managers working in shrub steppe systems in eastern Washington.