Measuring 330,000 acres (130,000 ha), much of the land is used for agriculture, with some portions protected as the Zumwalt Prairie Preserve owned by The Nature Conservancy.

The Zumwalt Prairie grassland is situated on a basalt plateau which varies in elevation from 3,500 to 5,500 feet (1,100 to 1,700 m) and is dominated by several native bunchgrasses, including Idaho Fescue (Festuca idahoensis), Bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata), Sandberg's Bluegrass (Poa secunda) and many species of wildflowers.

The Zumwalt Prairie is a piece of a once extensive temperate grassland system west of the Rocky Mountains which extended into Canada.

The Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse, which had been extirpated from the Zumwalt Prairie by 1947[5] is being reintroduced in an effort spearheaded by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Other wildlife includes Belding's ground squirrels (Spermophilus beldingi), northern pocket gophers (Thomomys talpoides), Rocky mountain elk (Cervus elaphus), mule deer, white tail deer have recently begun migrating to the area as well, black bear (Ursus americanus), cougar (Felis concolor), bobcat (Lynx rufus), badgers and coyotes (Canis latrans) .

The Nez Perce were forced out of the area in the late 1870s after President Ulysses S. Grant officially opened Wallowa County to white settlement.