The Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge is a riverine flood plain habitat, semi-permanent
wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...
on the
Columbia River, east of
Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, located in Clark County. Incorporated in 1857, Vancouver has a population of 190,915 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Was ...
, with
cottonwood-dominated
riparian
A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks a ...
corridors, pastures, and remnant stands of
Oregon white oak
''Quercus garryana'' is an oak tree species of the Pacific Northwest, with a range stretching from southern California to southwestern British Columbia. It is commonly known as the Oregon white oak or Oregon oak or, in Canada, the Garry oak. It ...
. The largest wetland restoration project on the lower Columbia River involves removing about of
levees separating the refuge from the river to restore of
floodplain
A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...
habitat.
The refuge lies partly within the
Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area
Columbia may refer to:
* Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America
Places North America Natural features
* Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...
and serves as the operational headquarters for the
Pierce National Wildlife Refuge
The Pierce National Wildlife Refuge is in southwest Washington (U.S. state), Washington within the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. It encompasses wetlands and uplands along the north shore of the Columbia River west of the town of Nort ...
. It has been designated as the site of the "Gateway to the Gorge" visitor center. This facility was completed in late 2022.
The
Washington Department of Transportation has estimated that this facility may be used by as many as 100,000 visitors annually, providing the it with one of the best outreach opportunities in the Pacific Northwest.
References
External links
Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Restoration page
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National Wildlife Refuges in Washington (state)
Protected areas of Clark County, Washington
Wetlands of Washington (state)
Landforms of Clark County, Washington