© Pete Saloutos/Panoramic Images (Washington Title Image Large)
Shrub-steppe
Although Washington is the Evergreen State, it is also home to an expanse of treeless, arid habitats dominated by various species of sagebrush and other shrubs and a number of native bunchgrasses, most notably Idaho fescue and bluebunch wheatgrass. However, more than half of the area originally occupied by native shrub-steppe vegetation has been converted to agriculture. What remains of the original shrub-steppe is highly fragmented, occurring as isolated remnants that will undoubtedly undergo further degradation and loss of function over time.