Grand Ronde Basin

"This basin includes the Grande Ronde, Wallowa, and Imnaha rivers, flowing from the majestic Blue Mountains to the Snake River. The Grande Ronde River is the biggest and longest river in the basin. Ranching, agriculture, and forestry are key to the economy. This basin is the historic homeland of the Nez Perce Tribe and the Umatilla Tribe. Nestled between the Imnaha and Grande Ronde rivers, Zumwalt Prairie supports the highest density of raptors in Oregon. Bull trout, spring chinook salmon and summer steelhead in this basin are listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act. Mountain headwaters in pine forests transition through deep canyons and meander through agricultural communities in the lowlands before flowing through deep canyons to join the Snake River.

One of the Grande Ronde Basin's most famous residents was Chief Joseph, a Nez Perce who spoke eloquently against the injustice of United States policy toward his people and held out the hope that America's promise of freedom and equality might one day be fulfilled for Native Americans as well. An indomitable voice of conscience for the West, he died in 1904, still in exile from his homeland in the Grande Ronde Basin, according to his doctor of a 'broken heart.'"

Content featured on the Oregon Explorer, "Learn about Places: Grande Ronde Basin" site, information compiled by science writing consultant John Ame. The page was edited by Cecilia Noyes, Grande Ronde Model Watershed