Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1953. The 195,000-acre Hanford Reach National Monument/Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge was created when President Bill Clinton signed Proclamation 7319 on June 9, 2000. The Monument/Refuge is the first of its kind under U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service management within the lower 48 states and managed as a unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System. The Monument/Refuge is comprised of the Fitzner-Eberhardt Arid Lands Ecology Reserve and the Saddle Mountain and Wahluke Units. These units encompass important riparian, aquatic, riverine and upland shrub-steppe habitats that are declining throughout the American west. Numerous wildlife species depend upon these intact ecosystems; 43 species of fish, including threatened and endangered salmon and trout; 40 mammals; 246 birds; 4 amphibians; 9 reptiles and over 1500 invertebrates.

To reach the Monument Headquarters, follow I-182 in central Washington toward Richland. Take the George Washington Way exit into Richland, and follow this for several miles through the city. Just after the Richland High School and Washington State University Tri-Cities campus on the left, visitors will go up a small hill. The next traffic light is Battelle Boulevard. Take the next right (5th Street) after Battelle Boulevard. At the next intersection, the Monument headquarters will be just across the street and to the left, 3250 Port of Benton Boulevard. Please note that most of this new monument is closed, or access is limited, and there are few visitor facilities pending completion of a management plan and its implementation. The Monument is within a half day drive of three major metropolitan areas (Seattle, Spokane, and Portland) and situated in the "backyard" of the Tri-Cities (Richland, Kennewick, Pasco), Washington, with a population of more than 150,000.