The Arid Lands Ecology Reserve protects about 320 square kilometers of shrub-steppe on the Hanford Site near Richland, forming the state’s largest remaining tract of that ecosystem and part of a larger National Environmental Research Park. Established in 1967 for plant conservation after earlier grazing, homesteading, oil drilling, and road building, it later gained research protections and became part of the Hanford Reach National Monument in 2000. Its dry slopes and springs support diverse native plants, including rare species. A major range fire on June 27, 2000, severely damaged native sagebrush, bunchgrass, and microbiotic crust, and recovery has been hindered by invasive species.