The Cowiche Canyon Conservancy (CCC) is educating people on what they can do to save monarchs as the population continues to decline

Laughter, footsteps and a babbling creek echoed off the walls of Cowiche Canyon on Saturday as kids, parents and community members strode up and down trails for the Cowiche Canyon Conservancy’s Earth Day Walks.

I challenge you, reader, especially those who have been born and raised in Central Washington but who might not have spent any time in the steppe, to see its limitless beauty and inherent value.

Rocky Top trails provide a unique combination of wildflowers, shrub steppe, single track trails graded for mountain biking, and expansive views of the Yakima Valley.

Wildfires, invasive species and climate change are seriously threatening the Hanford Reach National Monument, and with it, a rare plant that grows only in one place in the world.

This winter, a team of plant researchers is giving the Umtanum desert buckwheat new hope. Researchers and volunteers planted a second outcropping at the Cowiche Canyon Conservancy near Yakima.

Yakima Valley College and Cowiche Canyon Conservancy will host their annual Winter Talk series January through March with free, online lectures for the public..

Cowiche Canyon Conservancy has announced that its capital campaign to protect the uplands area of the shrub-steppe habitat from development was a success.

The nonprofit raised more than $1.2 million to purchase and protect 245 acres of private land in the heart of the uplands.

The opportunities provided by the two nonprofits became especially valuable as closures have been extended to recreation areas managed by state and national agencies.

Yakima-area residents have long benefited from Cowiche Canyon Conservancy’s stewardship of the land.

The 501(c)(3) nonprofit, established in 1985, manages more than 5,000 acres and 30 miles of hiking trails northwest of Yakima and shares the wonders of the land — complete with breathtaking views — with tens of thousands of visitors each year. Besides intrepid hikers and bikers, the conservancy’s community outreach events draw students, families and awestruck individuals year-round for writing workshops, citizen science projects, lectures, special butterfly-related events and more.