Saving Fish Farmers: A Model for Responding to Environmental Concerns and Endangered Species Criteria by Applying Irrigation Principles and Water Conservation Practices

摘要

The Walla Walla Valley is located in the southeast corner of the state of Washington and the northeast corner of the state of Oregon. Agriculture constitutes the primary sustaining source of revenue for the valley, although a moderate industrial presence has developed over the past few decades. The valley is bounded on the north, south and east sides by the Blue Mountains, which contain the headwaters of the Walla Walla and Touchet Rivers. These two river systems comprise the major drainage corridorof the Walla Walla Valley. The stream morphology of the area is unique because the Blue Mountain Range is a relatively young and resistant formation. This condition produces a rapid change in elevation from peak to valley, creating very fast moving, clean, clear creeks and streams in the upper reaches. As the Walla Walla and Touchet rivers move abruptly into the valley, the relief becomes far less pronounced, and in places nearly flat. The river systems transition through a broad, mature floodplain to the north and west before merging and dropping into the Columbia River Basin and the arid deserts of south central Washington.