• View of the Monument across the Snake River

    Hagerman Fossil Beds

    National Monument Idaho

Plants

Sagebrush

Sagebrush on the Monument

NPS Photo

The predominant naturally-occurring vegetation on the Monument is composed of the sagebrush steppe plant communities once common to much of the intermountain region of southern Idaho.

These shrub steppe communities include a dominant shrub, often sagebrush, interspersed with open, sparsely vegetated areas of grasses and forbs.

The steep slopes of the Monument’s bluffs west of the Snake River provide an environment that contributes to the diversity of plant species. In addition, a riparian zone and localized wetlands occur along the Reservoir.

Livestock grazing prior to establishment of the Monument in 1988 also undoubtedly contributed to alteration of soils, loss of native grasses, and establishment of non-native plant species.

Non-native plant species known to be present include Russian olive (Eleagnus angustifolia), Russian thistle (Salsola kali), quackgrass (Agropyron repens), cheat grass (Bromus tectorum), blue mustard (Chorispora tenella), tansymustard (Descurainia sophia), tumble-mustard (Sisymbrium altissimum), and medusa head (Taeniatherum caput-medusae).

These and other non-native species likely to be present, compete with the Monument's native plant communities, disrupting ecosystem processes.

Did You Know?

A portion of the view from the Snake River Overlook.

The Snake River Overlook, a wheelchair accessible viewing platform, allows a view of bluffs about 600 feet high.  They consist of strata, or layers of sediments (sands, silts, and clays) deposited by the flooding of rivers flowing into ancient Lake Idaho more than three million years ago.