United States Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service		 Washington Go to Accessibility Information
Skip to Page Content


 

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

The Upper Columbia/Entiat Watershed comprises 951,762 acres over four Washington counties; Chelan, Douglas, Grant, and Kittitas.  The area consists of steep, glaciated hills dominated by deep deposits of coarse, volcanic soil that contributes to the character of the dry, east-side region.  Elevations range from 1,200 to 5,700 feet along with the precipitation ranging from 8” in the lower elevations up to 34” in the highest elevations. Ponderosa pine grows in lower areas, Douglas-fir occurs in the mid-elevations, and subalpine fir is found above 5,000 feet.

The watershed contains approximately 678 farms and ranches. Common land uses include orchards, vineyards, cropland, recreation, forestry, and grazing. On the east side of the Columbia River lie the basalt plateaus bordering the main flood channels. These are patterned by 'scabs' (mounds of loess) surrounded by rock fragments.  This is referred to as the, “Channeled Scablands”.  The most common native vegetation on the channeled scabland is the stiff sage-Sandberg’s Bluegrass association on shallow soils and Big Sage Bluebunch Wheatgrass plant association on the deeper soils.


Map of Upper Columbia-Entiat Watershed

map that locates watershed in the state close up view of watershed area



Counties in Upper Columbia-Entiat Watershed

  • Chelan
  • Douglas
  • Grant
  • Kittitas


Land Cover/Use

Land Use

Washington

Cropland

314,500

Pasture

            17,700

Rangeland

531,600
Forestland          252,600

Total Private Land

          429,700

Total Federal Land

          322,200


For General and Application Information, visit our national NRCS CSP home page.
Washington State NRCS Informational Materials
Adobe Acrobat DocumentUpper Columbia-Entiat Watershed CSP Eligibility, Qualification and Application Steps  
(.PDF file 190 KB)
 

Adobe Acrobat DocumentPDF 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

Randy Kelley
District Conservationist
Okanogan USDA Service Center
Phone:  509.422.2750  Ext.102
Fax:       509.422.0532
1251 Second Avenue South, Room 101
Okanogan, WA  98840-9767
 

< Back to ... 2005 CSP Watersheds