One of the plants first described by Lewis and Clark was the Giant Sagebrush, Artemisia tridentata. This is a larger than normal specimen, reaching to 8 feet, with a trunk almost 4 inches in diameter. The Sagebrush will grow in mostly arid conditions, but does best in deep, moist, well-drained soils. The plants have a number of characteristics that make them well adapted to dry conditions. One of the most important of these adaptations is the process of going dormant in the drier parts of the year. When some of our guests rubbed the leaves they noticed a strong medicinal odor that many people associate with the cold deserts of the intermountain west. This odor comes from resins in the plant's sap which help to preserve water in its tissues and are another adaptation to arid conditions. Recently, the sagebrush in the west was been spreading due to overgrazing and lack of wildfires.
This plant is located in McNary Dam Wildlife Area. This wildlife area was developed in a effort to replace some of the wildlife habitat that had been destroyed as a result of dam construction. The guests on all our hikes (long, medium and leisurely) today saw a variety of plants and wildlife including the Black-tailed Jackrabbit, Wood Ducks, Wideons, Pintail, Mallards, and Black-Crowned
