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

Excerpts from the report: The Hood Drainage Basin of Oregon includes all the tributaries of the Columbia River between Bonneville and the divide of the Deschutes River Basin, from approximately river mile 145 to river mile 202 (fig. 1). It is bounded on the west by the Lower Willamette River Basin, on the south and east by the Deschutes River Basin, and on the north by the Columbia River. The basin has a total area of about 654,500 acres which is about 1.1 percent of the total area of Oregon. There are approximately equal areas in the Hood River and Wasco Counties and a very small area in Multnomah County. It contains 91 percent of Hood River County, 22.4 percent of Wasco County, and 400 acres in Multnomah County. For the purpose of discussion, the basin can be divided into two almost equal areas on the basis of soils, climate, and hydrology. These areas have a common boundary that is almost the county line between Wasco and Hood River Counties and will be referred to as the Wasco Resource Area and the Hood Resource Area. Sixty-one percent of the basin is privately owned. Fifty-six percent is forest; 24 percent is cropland; 13 percent is range; and the remaining 7 percent of the basin is devoted to other uses. Ninety-eight percent of the publicly owned land is forested. The broad objectives of the cooperative survey were to gather basic data and information pertinent to the use and control of water for agriculture in the area, to highlight such major water related problems as erosion, flood prevention, and drainage, and to outline a general program for water and related land resource management to be used as a background for future detailed study and planning.