NWP Home Page > Just for Kids Home > Ecosystems

The ecology of the Hanford Site is very special.

When the Hanford Engineering Works were constructed, the Government included a huge buffer zone around the reactors and other manufacturing facilities.  Only about 10 percent of Hanford's 586 square mile area is contaminated to levels dangerous for human contact. 

The large undeveloped area is home to many plants and creatures no longer seen elsewhere in our area.  It provides abundant habitat for a variety of birds and wild animals.  In the mid-1990's, scientists from The Nature Conservancy did a complete biological inventory and found several species new to science!

The Hanford Reach of the Columbia River is one of the last free-flowing sections of the river, partly because security issues prevented construction of a dam or major navigation along the Hanford Site.

The Reach is home to the largest fall Chinook salmon run in the Columbia River system because it has the cool, clean, fast-flowing water salmon need to keep their eggs healthy. 

Biologists and other scientists from the Pacific Northwest National Lab in Richland, study the health of plants and animals and do research on the natural elements at the Hanford Site.  To learn more about their work, visit this site.

The black and white photo to the left was taken from the air above the Hanford Reach.  The white spots are salmon redds - or nests.  They appear white because the female cleans the silt and algae off the gravel and cobbles while building her nest.  The redds are about the size of a Volkswagon! In this picture, the male and female swim side by side as he releases his milt which will fertilize her eggs.

Chinook Salmon represent the largest fish run in the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River.        After salmon mate, or spawn, they die becoming an important part of the food chain for at least 70 different animals.  Plants also use the nutrients from the dead fish

The Reach is home to some really big fish.  Can you imagine catching this one?

There are many sites where you can learn more about salmon.

The Bonneville Power Administration             Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife

As the Hanford Site is cleaned up, parts of it will be released to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and be included as part of the Hanford Reach National Monument.

Critical Thinking... If you were a scientist, what kind would you be?  Would you study plants, animals, fungus, fish?  Imagine being a scientist and discovering something no one else had ever seen?  Where would you find it?  What does it look like? What would you call it?

Try this:Write a letter to your former college professor to tell her about your finding.  Include a drawing.

Other good resources to learn about the ecology of the Hanford Site:

Partnership for Arid Lands Studies (this site is designed for teachers) but there are some excellent pictures if you look through the Resource Cards.

Learn more about the Hanford Site, follow the links below.