Lower Grande Ronde

Description of Watershed

The watershed includes 440,007 private acres, 17,308 acres are cropland, 11,332 acres pastureland, 211,710 rangeland and 193,475 are forested. 3,985 acres of cropland are enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, the remaining 12,815 cropland acres are used for the production of small grains and forage crops. Rangeland is dominated by bluebunch wheatgrass/Idaho fescue plant communities. The Zumwalt Prairie, is a major rangeland area in this watershed, considered to be the largest remaining area of native Palouse prairie. Forest lands are owned by industrial timber companies and family operated ranches.

Wallowa county was formed by a series of geologic events. Starting with volcanic island archipelago during the Permian period, submergence in warm shallow water creating coral reefs, tectonic activity and finally scouring glaciers. Soils in the watershed are primarily shallow to moderately deep silt loams over clay and bedrock. The Grande Ronde River flows west to east across the northern part of the watershed, eventually joining the Snake River in Washington State. The Grande Ronde provides habitat for four ESA listed fish species, including Bull Trout, Spring Chinook, Fall Chinook and steelhead.

The Lower Grande Ronde Watershed contains ceded lands of the Nez Perce Tribe, headquartered in Lapwai, Idaho. The Nez Perce have also recently purchased private lands within the watershed that they manage for wildlife habitat.

Major Commodities in the watershed consist of: cattle, forestry and small grain production.

Map of Lower Grande Ronde Watershed

Counties in Watershed

Washington Counties

• Asotin
• Columbia
• Garfield

Oregon Counties

• Union
• Wallowa       
   

Land Cover/Use

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

Visit the Oregon State web page for additional information regarding their portion of the Lower Grande Ronde Watershed.

Washington State NRCS Informational Materials

Lower Grande Ronde Watershed CSP Eligibility, Qualification and Application Steps  
(.PDF file 190 KB)
 

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

Program Contacts - Washington

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

Larry Hooker
District Conservationist
Walla Walla USDA Service Center
Phone:  (509) 522-6347
Fax:      (509) 525-2811
1501 Business One Circle, Suite 101
Walla Walla, WA   99362-9526

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