CogKnoSys

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Physical

Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge is a floodplain and wetland refuge on the Columbia River, east of Vancouver, Washington.

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The idea

Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge is a protected area of low, wet land beside the Columbia River. It lies 10 miles (16 km) east of Vancouver, Washington. Most of the land is floodplain, the flat ground next to a river that the water spreads across whenever the river rises above its usual banks. Parts of it stay wet for much of the year, so it is called a semi-permanent wetland.

The refuge holds several kinds of habitat in a small space. Cottonwood trees fill its riparian corridors, the green strips of land along streams. There are also pastures and remnant stands of Oregon white oak. This mixture of open water, shady trees and grassy fields gives many different animals, from migrating waterbirds to small mammals, separate places to feed, rest and raise their young.

For decades a levee, a long wall of earth, separated the refuge from the river. A levee protects nearby farmland from flooding, but it also prevents the river from spreading fresh water, sediment and nutrients across the land behind it. When a levee is removed, the river can reach its natural floodplain again, and wetland plants, insects and young fish gradually return to the restored channels. The refuge is one of four managed by the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which has its headquarters in Ridgefield.

Check yourself

Question 1 of 3

What did crews remove at Steigerwald Lake in 2021 to reconnect the refuge with the river?

Pick one. The first pick counts.

Composition

what it's made of

  • Floodplain habitat — Flat land beside the Columbia River that the river can flood.
  • Riparian corridors — Strips of land along the water where cottonwood trees grow.
  • Oregon white oak stands — Small leftover groves of oak trees.
  • Pastures — Open grassy fields inside the refuge.
  • Levee openings — Four direct connections to the Columbia River, opened in 2021, that let the river flood in each season.
  • Gibbons Creek — A creek moved out of its raised canal into a natural, winding channel in fall 2021.

Connection

how it relates

Under Lower Columbia Ecosystems and Wildlife

In place

  1. Columbia Riverstrength 90 of 100

    The refuge is a wetland on the Columbia River.

  2. Columbia River Gorgestrength 80 of 100

    Part of the refuge lies inside the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.

  3. Vancouver, Washingtonstrength 60 of 100

    The refuge lies 10 miles (16 km) east of Vancouver.

Related

  1. Habitatsstrength 60 of 100

    The refuge protects wetland, riverside woods and pasture habitats.

Change

how and why it evolves

Past
From the 1960s until 2021, a levee cut the refuge off from the Columbia River. In summer 2021, crews removed more than 2 miles of that levee and opened four direct connections to the river. The refuge reopened in May 2022, with 965 acres of floodplain joined to the river again.
Now
Since the refuge reopened in 2022, the Columbia can flood parts of it each season, and salmon and lamprey can swim in. The work, which lasted from 2019 to 2022, also added more than a mile of trail, viewing platforms and a new parking lot.
Next
As the newly planted trees and wetland plants grow, the reconnected floodplain will likely give fish and birds more places to feed and shelter.

Knowledge you can walk. Read the idea, then step up, across or down.

Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge is a floodplain and wetland refuge on the Columbia River, east of Vancouver, Washington.

See it on the map

Learn, discuss, create, buy or invest

The idea

Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge is a protected area of low, wet land beside the Columbia River. It lies 10 miles (16 km) east of Vancouver, Washington. Most of the land is floodplain, the flat ground next to a river that the water spreads across whenever the river rises above its usual banks. Parts of it stay wet for much of the year, so it is called a semi-permanent wetland.

The refuge holds several kinds of habitat in a small space. Cottonwood trees fill its riparian corridors, the green strips of land along streams. There are also pastures and remnant stands of Oregon white oak. This mixture of open water, shady trees and grassy fields gives many different animals, from migrating waterbirds to small mammals, separate places to feed, rest and raise their young.

For decades a levee, a long wall of earth, separated the refuge from the river. A levee protects nearby farmland from flooding, but it also prevents the river from spreading fresh water, sediment and nutrients across the land behind it. When a levee is removed, the river can reach its natural floodplain again, and wetland plants, insects and young fish gradually return to the restored channels. The refuge is one of four managed by the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which has its headquarters in Ridgefield.

Check yourself

3 quick questions, instant feedback.