Palouse River
Drainage
 |
| Clearwater
River, north of Lewiston. |
The Palouse River drains from
a timbered, mountainous area with elevations ranging to 5,000 feet mean sea level
(msl) through rolling hills developed as agricultural land at an elevation of
2,500 feet msl near the Idaho-Washington border. The upper reaches of the Palouse
drainage have been extensively roaded, logged, and dredge mined, while the lower
areas have been intensively farmed.
The only
remaining trout habitat in the drainage is located near the headwaters. Substantial
improvements in fish populations in the drainage will necessitate rebuilding
riparian habitat that will increase flow and reduce water temperature during
the summer.
Written and compiled by Jacqueline
Harvey 1999.