Washington's next great place

The Columbia Highlands of northeastern Washington connect the northern Rockies on the east to the North Cascades on the west. It's a landscape of wild forests, mountains, streams, and glacier-wrought kettles, encompassing the many roadless areas in the Colville National Forest. Many of these lands qualify as true wilderness, yet do not have the wilderness protection afforded by Congress which they deserve.

Wildlife and forests

The Columbia Highlands are the richly forested mountains and valleys of the highland ranges and watersheds that feed the upper Columbia River. The area provides a key "landscape bridge" for large roaming wildlife, including lynx, bears, wolverine, and wolves. The Columbia Highlands contains some of the best wildlife habitat, from meadow to mountain, remaining in the Inland and Greater Northwest.

Because two major ecosystems intersect  and meld here (the Rockies and Cascades) the eastern Okanogan, Kettle River Range,  and Selkirk Mountains of the highlands are especially rich in plant and animal diversity. For example, big horn sheep and moose, are most commonly associated with the Rocky Mountains, but occur in the Columbia Highlands.

Conservation Northwest helped produce a new Columbia Highlands book of photos and essays that for the first time describes this diverse and vibrant landscape.

Bringing communities together

In the Columbia Highlands we've the unique opportunity to look at the landscape as a whole and the communities that live there and plan ahead for a future that otherwise might not be so quiet and undeveloped. Conservation Northwest is part of a team effort to come up with a management proposal for the area that helps conserve these beautiful lands and keep communities vibrant and connected. As part of the Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition, Conservation Northwest has helped build a local, cooperative effort and collaborative process in the Columbia Highlands and a management plan, meant to

• sustain timber industry jobs
• ensure outdoor recreation opportunities
• restore forests, and
• protect wildlife and wilderness

Together, it's a recipe for success in the Columbia Highlands.

Hikes and work parties

Want to get to know the Columbia Highlands? We organize hikes, events, and presentations in northeastern Washington. In summer, together with Spokane Mountaineers, The Lands Council, Backcountry Horsemen, Washington Trails Association, and others, we have an active trail work party calendar, restoring trails in the Colville and Salomo-Priest Wilderness and surrounding wild areas.