Colville Watershed
This section is for reference only. The sign-up period for this watershed has closed.

The total acres in the watershed are approximately 649,236 acres.  The watershed is situated in northeastern Washington located primarily in Stevens county, with smaller portions extending into Pend Oreille county.

The land uses in the watershed consist of cropland, grazed woodland forestland, recreation and pastureland. There are around 500 farms and ranches in the watershed with the average farm size between 300 and 400 acres.  Agricultural production centers on grain and hay production. Non-irrigated crops include wheat, oats, barley, alfalfa and grass/legume hay. There are a few dairies still in production in the watershed, but the majority of livestock production focuses on beef cattle. The dairies range in size from 100 to over 300 cows. Beef cattle herds range from 10 to 500 head and are primarily cow-calf operations.  Economic hurdles for agriculture include short growing seasons, greater distances to markets and cost of production inputs. Important natural resource issues include loss of water rights for irrigation out of the Colville River its tributary streams as well as increased levels of fecal coliform bacteria in the Colville River.  

The majority of forestland is located in Colville National Forest and the Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge. The forestland is made up of dissected, glaciated mountainous areas covered in mixed coniferous forest.  Pacific species include grand fir, western red cedar, Douglas-fir and western hemlock.  Rocky Mountain species include western larch, western white pine, ponderosa pine and lodge pole pine. Deciduous shrubs such as ninebark, oceanspray, and snowberry are common in the understory.

A combination of weather patterns, high relief, and very narrow valleys result in more summer precipitation and higher relative humidity at low and mid-elevations than elsewhere in eastern Washington. Annual precipitation varies from 16” in the lower elevations to 50” in the highest elevations.  The watershed includes the largest contiguous old growth cedar-hemlock forest in the interior U.S. which is important for lynx and grizzly bear habitat. The valley bottom is characterized by fertile soils subject to high water tables and occasional spring flooding. The upland soils of the watershed are gravelly to stony.

Map of Colville Watershed      
 

Counties in Colville Watershed

• Pend Oreille
• Stevens
   

Land Cover/Use

For General and Application Information, visit our national NRCS CSP home page.



Washington State NRCS Informational Materials

Colville Watershed CSP Eligibility, Qualification and Application Steps   (.PDF file 190 KB)
 

PDF files require Adobe Acrobat Reader.  Click to download a copy.

Program Contacts

Ross Lahren
Asst. State Conservationist for Programs
USDA  - Natural Resources Conservation Service
316 W. Boone Ave  Suite 450
Spokane, WA  99201
509.323.2971

Dave Kreft
District Conservationist
Colville USDA Service Center
Phone:  (509) 685-0858 Ext. 115
Fax:      (509) 684-1982
232 Williams Lake Road
Colville, WA   99114-9638
 

< Back to ... 2005 CSP Watersheds