Columbia
Plan Your Visit
Birdsong by day, coyote chorus by night. Dramatic cliffs and rimrock sit side-by-side with lakes, potholes, and marshes. Desert denizens and waterfowl sharing the same rugged landscape.
Comprising nearly 30,000 acres, Columbia National Wildlife Refuge is a scenic mixture of rugged cliffs, canyons, lakes, grasslands and sagebrush. The combination of lakes and surrounding irrigated croplands, combined with generally mild winters and the protection provided by the refuge, attracts large numbers of migrating and wintering mallards, Canada geese, tundra swans and other waterfowl.
Columbia National Wildlife Refuge is a special blend of old and new, open and sanctuary, wildlife and landscapes. It's a wonderful place to visit in any season, at any time of the day, for any number of reasons.
Columbia is open to most uses seven days a week from sunrise to sunset. Some of the refuge is open year-round. Some is closed year-round. And some of the refuge is only open from March 1 to September 30 to provide sanctuary for wintering waterfowl. The primary canoe trail on Hutchinson and Shiner Lakes, and three of the four designated hiking trails, are only open during this time. One small section of the refuge is closed from February 1 to April for the protection of roosting Sandhill cranes. Call the refuge office at (509) 488-2668 to find out about seasonal closures.
The refuge office is located at 51 South Morgan Lake Road, approximately 3/4 of a mile north of the intersection of McManamon and Morgan Lake Roads. The office is open to the public, but there are no staff assigned to keeping the office open. When staff are in the office as part of their normal duties, the office is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., excluding holidays. However, the staff is small, so when employees are in the field doing their jobs in managing the refuge, the office is closed.
Most areas of the refuge have no restroom or drinking water facilities. Refuge visitors should plan their trips accordingly. Please do not drink water from any lake or stream.
The refuge covers a variety of habitats including rough terrain, deep waters, dense stands of vegetation, stubble fields, and ditches. Access difficulty varies by area, and users should examine their own abilities and limitation before visiting the refuge. Contact the refuge office for suggestions on using the area safely.
The western rattlesnake is regularly encountered on the refuge and might be found anywhere during warm weather. They are most abundant in rocky areas. Visitors should be alert for them, but must remember that they, like all other species of wildlife on the refuge, are protected.
From canoeing to hunting, many activities beckon at Columbia National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is especially known for its birdwatching and fishing. Regardless of the activity, it's a good bet that it was made possible by the Ice Age Floods that reshaped the inland Northwest. Columbia has a host of features, including the Drumheller Channels National Natural Landmark. Be sure to check out the National Park Service's brochure.
Trails
Columbia National Wildlife Refuge is a great place to see the power of the ice age floods that ripped the landscape of eastern Washington. The swirling waters and scouring rocks created pockets everywhere, pockets that would later be filled with water from the Columbia Basin Project. The Rimrock Trail is a spectacular vantage point to see the landscape the floods left behind. To see the exposed basalt columns up close, try the Pipistrelle Cliffs at the head of the Black Lake Trail.
Seasons of Wildlife
In early spring, the loud calls of Canada geese echo over the landscape as skeins of them fly overhead. What are they constantly talking about as they fly?
Winter
In winter, large numbers of waterfowl roost and loaf on the typically open waters of Royal, Upper Hampton and Lower Hampton Lakes—that is, when they're not feeding in nearby agricultural fields. When the area has cold weather and the ponds and wetlands are iced over, waterfowl numbers are low. However, when conditions allow for open water, numbers can climb dramatically. Monthly aerial survey data from 2001 through 2011 for the refuge indicate that during November the average number of waterfowl that use the refuge is 14,051, with a high count of 24,361. During the month of December, the average waterfowl number on the refuge is 15,050, with a high of 18,215. January has an average of 8,734 waterfowl winter, with a high of 27,264.
Spring
As winter turns to spring and frozen lakes begin to thaw, additional waterfowl return in great numbers. The largest concentrations of ducks, geese and lesser Sandhill cranes arrive on the refuge in March and April, at times numbering over 75,000 individuals. Refuge farm fields are popular viewing sites; Marsh Unit 1 provides day-time viewing opportunities. Canada geese, mallards, gadwalls, cinnamon teals, redheads and ruddy ducks nest on the refuge in small numbers. The American coot, a duck look-alike but with lobed rather than webbed feet and a pointed bill, is an abundant nester throughout the refuge. The pugnacious behavior of nesting coots and the antics of their brightly colored red and black chicks will liven the summer marsh.
Summer
Wetlands also host breeding American avocets, American bitterns, Virginia rails and pied-billed grebe, to name but a few species. In the sagebrush grasslands you will find nesting western meadowlarks, grasshopper and lark sparrows, horned larks and long-billed curlews. Many other birds are attracted by the complex structure of the basalt cliffs; the ledges, cracks and holes provide important nesting habitat and shelter for red-tailed hawks, prairie falcons, American kestrels, barn owls, common ravens, rock and canyon wrens and northern flickers. Cliff swallows—who attach their nests to vertical rock surfaces—sometimes form large colonies, while violet-green swallows nest out of sight in the crevices. Coyotes and mule deer are relatively abundant and are occasionally seen by visitors. Muskrats, with laterally flattened tails to act as rudders, are common wetland inhabitants. Beavers use cattail and bulrush instead of tree branches to build their dams and lodges on the refuge. Bobcats, badgers, otters and mink, though scarce, are also found on the refuge. One of the more interesting mammals is the yellow-bellied marmot, whose alarm call carries a great distance from cliff or talus slope. Also living in the cliffs is the nocturnal bushy-tailed woodrat, which deposits a white secretion on rocks to mark its territory. The secretion is rich in nitrogen and influences the species of lichen growing around it. The Washington ground squirrel, a candidate for the Endangered Species List, is rarely encountered but closely monitored by refuge staff.
Fall
As the cool winds of autumn begin to blow, the migration process is repeated in reverse, as northern waterfowl begin to drift south. Then, much of the refuge closes to all public entry to provide critical undisturbed sanctuary for birds during the stressful winter season.
Spring & Fall Migration
Approximately 30 percent of the refuge is classified as waterfowl habitat, including areas of water, cropland and grassland, much of which is aimed at providing habitat during migration, rather than waterfowl production. During migration, 19 species of ducks use the area; generally, the mallard is the most common, followed by wigeon, green-wing teal, pintail, ring-necked duck, scaup, bufflehead, ruddy duck, common merganser, canvasback, redhead, shoveler, gadwall, hooded merganser and wood duck. Columbia Refuge is a great place to practice your duck identification skills.
Featured Species
Columbia National Wildlife Refuge supports a great many species, from the cute and cuddly Washington ground squirrel and yellow-belled marmot to the scary western Pacific rattlesnake to the colorful mountain bluebird. However, it's the Sandhill cranes following their ancient migration routes that are the stars of the show.
Of the 650,000 Sandhill cranes worldwide, lesser Sandhill cranes—the cranes on Columbia Refuge—are the most numerous subspecies, with a population of approximately 450-500,000. Most of those can be found in the Mid-Continent population, which winters in New Mexico, Texas and northern Mexico. Those are the cranes that famously congregate by the thousands along the Platte River in Nebraska as they head north to breeding grounds in Canada, Alaska and eastern Siberia.
Around 35,000 lesser Sandhill cranes follow the Pacific Flyway, coming through eastern Washington during their spring and fall migrations, stopping over on Columbia Refuge and the Hanford Reach National Monument. These cranes winter in the southern portion of California's Central Valley and pass through on their way to nesting sites in the Matanuska River Valley and Bristol Bay areas of south-central Alaska.
Activities
Featured Species
Services
Other Facilities in the Complex
About
It seems as if our world gets more stressful with each passing day. Columbia National Wildlife Refuge offers a chance to unplug and reconnect with the world around us. With dozens of lakes, numerous trails, and abundant wildlife, visitors have a variety of activities available. The dramatic landscape is sure to spark an interest in the geologic forces that shaped the refuge, while the constant migration of birds makes the refuge a special place to view wildlife. Regardless of your interests, Columbia has something to offer.
It's quiet and peaceful. In winter, nearly silent. In summer, listen for insect music. The sky is big, the space vast. It invites you to explore. Bring along your curiosity.
Desert
Surprising to most people outside the Northwest, the landscape of eastern Washington is that of a desert. In its natural state, almost all of Columbia National Wildlife Refuge would be considered desert, with the exception of the naturally ephemeral Crab Creek. However, rather than a desert of cacti and mesquite, eastern Washington's desert is that of shrub-steppe, with sagebrush and bunchgrasses.
Water
Like most of eastern Washington, much of the refuge is no longer in its natural state. The construction of the Columbia Basin Project forever altered the landscape, bringing water to the desert. Seepage from irrigation structures and reservoirs created wetlands, riparian areas and small lakes on the once-dry landscape. The seasonal Crab Creek has become perennial, even providing habitat for endangered salmonids.
Ice Age Floods
The creation of lakes and wetlands would not have happened without the geologic upheavals of ages past. During the last Ice Age, sheets of ice spreading down from Canada blocked rivers with dams of ice. Occasionally—or perhaps hundreds of times—the dams failed, sending floodwaters greater than the flow of all the world's rivers combined tearing across eastern Washington's lava fields, gouging coulees, redistributing boulders, depositing massive sand and gravel bars, scraping the land bare in some areas and leaving behind rich soils elsewhere. Nowhere are these depressions and geologic nooks more prevalent than on the refuge. In turn, this torn-up land—the Drumheller Channeled Scablands National Natural Landmark—formed just the right topography to capture the new hydrology of the Columbia Basin Project, creating wetlands in the desert.
Water Brought Wildlife
Water in the desert means an abundance of life. In its original state, the land supported coyotes, rattlesnakes, mule deer, horned larks, sage sparrows and other creatures of the shrub-steppe, although densities were limited. Water has changed all this, however. Many of the naturally occurring species can be found at higher densities (e.g., mule deer). Other species are newcomers, totally dependent on the artificial water; black-necked stilts and American avocets are some of the flashier ones. Still more species that may have made an occasional appearance can now be found in great numbers—Canada geese, northern pintails, and the refuge's most famous visitors, lesser Sandhill cranes. It was because of this newly created wildlife oasis, and the need to provide suitable mitigation for the Columbia Basin Project, that the refuge was created in 1944 "for migratory birds and other wildlife."
Water Brought Recreation
Another thing that water brings is recreational use. Without water, there wouldn't be any fishing, waterfowl hunting, or boating. It's likely that there would be less hiking, biking, horseback riding, or sightseeing; visitors are drawn to water and the vegetation and wildlife it fosters. Water brings the Sandhill cranes, the migrating songbirds and the waterfowl that people come to see, learn about and find for their "life-lists." It provides the serenity and the visual contrasts that draw the eye, and then the feet, of visitors. Without water, recreation and visitor use would be dramatically less on Columbia National Wildlife Refuge.
Farmlands
The Columbia Basin Project did more than create the need for, and provide water to, the refuge. It also created irrigated farmland, which secondarily provided a food source for many of the refuge's species. For example, the great concentration of Sandhill cranes found on the refuge in the spring is a recent event, beginning in earnest in the late 1980s. Before then, the cranes likely passed through the area on their way to breeding grounds in south-central Alaska without more than a brief stop. Now, leftover grain in farmers' fields has become an important food source for migrating cranes, concentrating them by the thousands for several weeks in late winter and early spring. Other wildlife, most notably migrating waterfowl, mule deer and numerous rodent species, also take advantage of the harvest. While much of the habitat found on the refuge (most of the lakes, wetlands, springs and perennial streams) is the result of an artificial infusion of water, it is important to note that the habitats themselves are not artificial. Natural wetlands and shallow lakes can be found within the Columbia Basin, and those on the refuge function the same way as naturally occurring ones found elsewhere within the area. So, while many of the habitat types on the refuge would naturally be found in far smaller acreages, if at all without seepage water from the Columbia Basin Project, the only non-natural habitat types present are farm fields and moist soil management areas.