Features
Coyotes
Possibly the most adaptable animal in North America (raccoons might disagree), coyotes thrive almost anywhere—including shrub-steppe.
Coyotes
Geology
Columbia NWR has a fascinating—and violent—geologic history. To truly know the refuge, you have to understand its past.
Geology
Photo Galleries
Some incredible photographers have donated some incredible photographs. If you can't visit Columbia NWR, this is a great consolation prize.
Photo Galleries
Washington Ground Squirrels
Too cute by half, Washington ground squirrels unfortunately spend most of the year below ground. Too bad; you can never get enough of them.
Washington Ground Squirrels
Rimrock Species
Columbia NWR is blessed with an abundance of rock faces, cliffs and crevices—perfect habitat for many species.
Rimrock Species
Of Interest
Want to see more animals on your trip to Columbia National Wildlife Refuge? Ready to add to your birding "Life List?" Here are some wildlife viewing tips from the "experts."
Watching WildlifeAbout the Complex
The Mid-Columbia River Refuges are eight refuges within the Columbia Basin.
Columbia is managed as part of the Mid-Columbia River Complex.
Learn more about the complex About the NWRS
The National Wildlife Refuge System, within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, manages a national network of lands and waters set aside to conserve America’s fish, wildlife, and plants.
Learn more about the NWRS
Learn About Our Resources
It surprises a lot of people that the “Evergreen State” of Washington is largely arid—and it gets hot, often into triple digits for long stretches. We can beat the heat by heading to air conditioning. However, the animals of Columbia NWR don't have that luxury. How do they cope?
Beating The Heat
We are getting dinner ready for this fall's visitors—ducks and geese! How do we do that? First, we need to control the intruders that limit and destroy the duck's dinners—cattails, tules, phragmites and reed canarygrass. These plants choke out what ducks love to eat and sometimes grow so thick that ducks have no place in the water to land! The marshy areas where these aggressive plants grow are being dried out and disced to set back succession. This allows good duck food to grow in their stead. While some wetlands are being dried to kill invasive plants, other wetlands are being irrigated to give moisture to the preferred duck food—smartweed, nodding beggartick, barnyard grass, swamp timothy and water plantain. Every 2-3 weeks from June through September these marsh areas are flooded and then dried to stimulate the growth of desirable waterfowl food. In fall and winter, the ponds are fully flooded to provide safe feeding and resting areas for the thousands of ducks and geese that visit. Visit us this winter to see if our efforts paid off!
Managed Wetlands
Formed by ancient volcanoes, carved by raging waters, these channeled scablands decorate the landscape with towering, fissures of basalt rock. The Drumheller Channels National Natural Landmark showcases a portion of the vast Ice Ages Floods in the Columbia Basin.
Learn more
Page Photo Credits — Sandhill Crane Profile - Aditi the Stargazer (www.flickr.com/people/aditithestargazer/), Coyote Sentinel - Bandelier National Monument/Sally King, Basalt Columns - Gordon Warrick, Cedar Waxwings Kissing - Gordon Warrick, Washington Ground Squirrel - Dennis Paulson, Rattlesnake - Gordon Warrick, Black-tailed Jackrabbit - Tom Spinker, Drumheller Channels National Natural Landmark - Gordon Warrick
Last Updated: Jun 27, 2016