Columbia River

10,000 BCE - present

Starting in British Columbia, the Columbia River flows through Washington and Oregon with an approximate total length of 1,243 miles. Several major tributaries join the waterway including the Snake, Kootenay, Willamette, and Deschutes Rivers. This ancient river formed millions of years ago, holding a great significance since the first peoples came to its water. Humans have long been connected to the river, from early fisheries and indigenous mythology to American industrialization damming and diverting the flow. The Columbia River ecosystem includes lush forests and semi-arid grasslands. Douglas-fir, estern hemlock, western red cedar, grand fir, ponderosa pine, and Oregon white oak scatter the region. The western gray squirrel, Lewis woodpecker, California mountain kingsnake, lesser goldfinch, elk, and mule deer play an important ecological role. The River Bottomlands include deciduous forests and marshland, however much of this land has been lost to construction of dams, freeways, and railroads. As one of the most endangered rivers in America, damming has played a major role in the decline of salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, and lamprey populations. Efforts to protect salmon runs, native bird species, and dwindling forests face push back from the needs of a growing population used to hydropower and overfishing practices.

BIRDS: 1 species is extinct and 3 are endangered
FISH: 1 species is extinct and 9 are endangered
MAMMALS: 1 species is extinct and 5 are endangered
REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS: 2 species are endangered
INSECT SPECIES: 2 species are endangered

The territory of the Columbia River watershed falls within the ancestral homelands of the Cayuse, Umatilla, Walla Walla, Chelan, Chinook, Clackamas, Clatsop, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Cowlitz, Kathlamet, Moses/Columbia, Nespelem, Syilx tmixʷ (Okanagan), Wanapum, Wasco and Wishram, Wendake-Nionwentsïo, and Yakama peoples.

Territorial recognition: https://native-land.ca/

Most Pressing Issues

Dams

There are 14 large dams along the Columbia and over 450 throughout the Columbia Basin. By significantly affecting the river’s flow, these dams impact the life cycles of many fish species including salmon and steelhead. Hundreds of miles of wilderness have been damaged by the effects of damming.

Logging

Clearcutting fills adjacent stream beds with slash (limbs, boughs & small trees),altering the riparian zone and creating siltation from erosion. Tree loss directly damages the habitats of many species.

Climate Change

The river is expected to see an increase in flooding as sea levels rise and global temperatures increase. Flooding will alter the landscape of the river, especially smaller tributaries, affecting the life cycles of many species.

Pollution

Nonpoint source pollution, agricultural pesticide & fertilizer runoff, pharmaceuticals & PFCs greatly affect the river water quality.

Extinction

Over 200 native naturally-spawning fish stocks are listed as at risk of extinction or of concern. Steelhead and Salmon stocks have gone extinct in several regions of the Columbia. Habitat loss caused by hydropower, agriculture, loggings, and invasive species all negatively impact the viability of these stocks.

How You Can Help

Columbia Riverkeeper

Columbia Riverkeeper works to protect & restore the water quality of the river through public education, grassroots organizing, enforcement of environmental laws & monitoring.

Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission

The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission works to to ensure a unified voice in the management of fishery resources & protect reserved treaty rights of the tribes.

Save Our Wild Salmon

Save Our Wild Salmon is a nationwide coalition working to restore wild salmon & steelhead to the waters of the PNW for the benefit of ecology, economy & culture.

Friends of the Columbia River Gorge

Friends of the Columbia River Gorge helped secure the passage of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act & has helped bring over 38,000 acres of private land into public ownership.

Oregon Environmental Council

The Oregon Environmental Council works to help individuals live green; businesses, farmers & health providers thrive with sustainability; & elected officials create practical policy.

Sources:

Northwest Power and Conservation Council, “Columbia River: Description, Creation, and Discovery."

Columbia River Gorge Commission & US Department of Agriculture Forest Service, National Scenic Area, Management Plan for the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area (White Salmon, WA: 2020).

“Columbia River Among America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2015,” American Rivers, April 7, 2015.

American Rivers, America's Most Endangered Rivers of 1998 (Seattle, WA, 1998).

Millie Hobaish, “Tribes of the Columbia River System,” Confluence Library, October 10, 2019.

“Salmon and Steelhead,” Columbia Riverkeepers.

“Salmon: Running the Gauntlet," prod. by Jim Norton and Rob Whittlesey, Nature (PBS, 2011).

Michelle Klampe, "Flooding in the Columbia River basin expected to increase under climate change, study finds," Oregon State University, Feb. 10, 2021.

Willa Nehlsen, Jack E. Williams, and James A. Lichatowisch, "Pacific Salmon at the Crossroads: Stocks at Risk from California, Oregon, Idaho, and Washington," in Fisheries 16, no. 2 (Taylor & Francis, 1991), 4, 10.