Nature thrives in the Columbia Highlands

Spokane's Rich Landers, columnist for The Spokesman-Review and author of 100 Hikes in the Inland Northwest says this about the book:

“The West and its web of life won’t survive as we know it with only a few million acres of wilderness in central Idaho or concentrated in the heart of the North Cascades. We need sizeable helpings of wild land in every niche, from the deserts and prairies to the alpine peaks.

"The Columbia Highlands are special precisely because they are neither too high nor too low, but rather just right for habitation for a long list of remarkable species.

"Nature thrives in vast areas where fires, floods, and grizzlies can run their course without human intervention. Hike up to the Kettle Crest and you’ll see what I mean. The ridge’s grassy ponderosa parklands illustrate how beautifully nature can take care of itself if we let it be.”

From the introduction to Columbia Highlands: Exploring Washington’s Last Frontier:

“East of the craggy and glacier-covered Cascade Mountains and north of the arid Columbia Plateau lies Washington’s Columbia Highlands. A far cry from the bustling Puget Sound, time moves slowly here. Vestiges of the past are prevalent, and little of this land has been exploited and manipulated. Hundreds of miles of trails traverse these mountains, yet rarely are fellow hikers encountered on them.”