USDA Report on Water and Related Land Resources, North Coast Drainage Basin, Oregon

Excerpts from the report: The North Coast Drainage Basin of Oregon is located in the extreme northwestern part of the state. It includes all of the coastal drainages from Cascade Head to the Columbia River and all of the drainages of the Columbia River from the city of St. Helens to the mouth of the river. The basin is bounded by the Pacific Ocean on the west, the Middle Coast Drainage Basin on the south, the Middle and Lower Willamette River Basins on the east, and the Columbia River on the north. It has a total area of 1,731,200 acres which is about 2.8 percent of the total area of Oregon. The basin includes all of Clatsop County, major portions of Tillamook and Columbia Counties, and minor portions of three counties--Yamhill, Washington, and Polk. The use of the land of the basin is related to its ownership. The land owned by the federal, state, county, and municipal governments is mostly forest land and it is managed for the production of lumber. Fifty-nine percent of the land, or 1,029,400 acres, is owned by private interests and, of this total, 808,200 acres are forest, 81,600 acres are cropland, and 139,600 acres are miscellaneous use. The purpose of this report is (1) to provide information on the past and present uses of water and related land resources, (2) to supply the production data from the use of these resources, (3) to assess the magnitude of water-related problems such as erosion, flooding, and drainage, (4) to indicate the probable direction of future use of water and land for agriculture and forestry in comparison to competing uses, and (5) to outline a general program for water and land resource management as a background for future detailed study and planning.