Whitman Mission National Historic Site - Grasses

Bluebunch wheatgrass, sandberg bluegrass, and Idaho fescue were some of the native grasses growing originally at the park. Intermixed throughout Whitman Mission was giant wild ryegrass, a species preferring a year-round supply of soil moisture and occurring primarily on clay bottomlands and seepage areas. It now occurs as scattered large bunches of grass, but historically, it may have been more extensive. It was this species that gave the Indian name to the location, Waiilatpu, meaning, place of the people of the rye grass. In 1985, the park staff began a revegetation project to control non-native weeds that had invaded the park. Some of these plants were on the state and county noxious weed lists as targeted weeds for control and are still serious threats to local agriculture. One native plant that has been discussed for possible use on the Mission Grounds is Sodar streambank wheatgrass. This plant is a native, sod forming grass that grows six to eighteen inches tall. It grows well on a variety of soils and can handle the dry conditions of summer. The overall goal for revegetation is to maintain the visual aspect of the historic period by providing visitors with a sense of what the historic scene must have looked like when Marcus and Narcissa Whitman lived here.