Shutdown Notice
Due to the lapse in federal appropriations, this website will not be updated until further notice. Where public access to refuge lands does not require the presence of a federal employee or contractor, activities on refuge lands will be allowed to continue on the same terms as before the appropriations lapse. Any entry onto Refuge System property during this period of federal government shutdown is at the visitor's sole risk. Please read this important message about  closure of National Wildlife Refuge System facilities  during the shutdown.

For more information, please visit the Department of Interior webpage at www.doi.gov/shutdown

Features

  • Wildflower Galleries

    Wildflower Galleries

    It may be arid, but the Monument comes alive in the spring with wildflowers. Here are some of our most colorful.

    Wildflower Galleries

  • Little Brown Myotis

    Hanford Bats

    Legend. Myths. Folklore. Bats figure prominently in our primal fears, the things that scare us in the chill dark of the night. Are we silly!

    Bats

  • Sage Thrasher

    Rare Species

    "The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant: 'What good is it?'" – Aldo Leopold, Round River

    Rare, Threatened or Endangered Species

  • Monarch Butterfly

    Insects

    The Monument is paradise for entomologists. Especially lepidopterans. You have to find out what that means.

    Insects

  • Elk Viewing

    Elk

    What do visitors want to see? The White Bluffs, of course. Coyotes, deer and birds have their fans. But everyone wants to see the massive elk found here.

    Elk

Of Special Interest

22nd Annual Othello Sandhill Crane Festival

March 22, 2019 Sandhill Crane Festival Promo

Experience the beauty and wonder of wildlife, highlighted by the return of Sandhill cranes to the Channeled Scablands. This three-day community event features a variety of activities. Field trips take you to view cranes and thousands of geese and duck, burrowing owls (when they are around), and the other wildlife of Columbia NWR. Learn about songbirds, geology, local agriculture, and human projects that affect the natural world. All Saturday, experts present diverse and absorbing lectures on the area's natural and cultural heritage. An art contest, a live raptor presentation, and numerous children's activities are offered. The festival charges an admission fee that covers entrance to all lectures.

Othello Sandhill Crane Festival Site

Winter Elk Viewing

Winter Elk Viewing

In winter, elk follow millennia of instinct and leave the Cascades for the lowlands of the Columbia Basin. Hundreds of elk can frequently be seen foraging along Highway 240 in the flats of the Rattlesnake Unit. While the movements of wildlife are never certain, watching the elk is popular, and the elk are seen frequently enough that the FWS has installed a pullout along Highway 240 to ensure public safety. If you go out there, take binoculars and spotting scopes. Remember: The Rattlesnake Unit is closed, so stay on your side of the fence. Besides, you don’t want to approach the elk out of respect for their winter energy needs and your own safety.

Elk
Watching Wildlife

Watching Wildlife

Watching Wildlife

Want to see more animals on your trip to the Hanford Reach National Monument? Here are some tips from the "experts."

Watching Wildlife

About the Complex

Mid-Columbia River National Wildlife Refuge Complex

Hanford Reach National Monument is managed as part of the Mid-Columbia River National Wildlife Refuge Complex.

Read more about the complex
About the NWRS

National Wildlife Refuge System

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The National Wildlife Refuge System, within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, manages a national network of lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife, and plants.

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