The Columbia Basin is on the Pacific Flyway, a major waterfowl migration route, and the many acres of wetlands within the <A HREF="http://www.usbr.gov/dataweb/html/columbia.html">Columbia Basin Project</a> area are used by numerous species. Operating hours: 7:00a.m. - 4:30p.m. Monday through Thursday and 7:00a.m. - 3:30p.m. Friday. Open during daylight hours. Refuge waters include 145 acres of ponds, 841 acres of lakes, and 17.8 miles of streams. Available species include rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, brown trout, largemouth bass, black crappie, yellow perch, and sunfish.

Located in the rain shadow of the Cascade Mountains, Columbia Refuge receives less than 8 inches of annual precipitation, creating an arid, desert environment. The refuge's geological setting is channeled scabland formed when great glacial floods gouged through basalt layers, leaving distinctive canyons or "channels" and numerous rocky buttes and cliffs.

Serious planning to irrigate the Columbia Basin on a large scale began in 1918. The Columbia Basin Project was approved and construction of Grand Coulee Dam began in 1934. In 1951, the first irrigation water began flowing to Columbia Basin farmlands. Columbia Refuge was established in conjunction with the irrigation project in 1944 and has been actively managed since 1955.

With a reliable supply of abundant water, the lakes appeared in former canyons and low spots throughout the refuge and surrounding areas. In many places on the refuge, additional lakes and ponds were created by damming spring and seepage flows. All the present refuge lakes and impoundments are the result, directly or indirectly, of irrigation water. Around the refuge, dryland wheat areas and many acres of sagebrush were soon converted to a wide variety of irrigated crops. Many of these crops, particularly corn, provided abundant food for ducks and geese. The agricultural development, together with the numerous water areas, combined each year to provide ideal feeding and resting areas for many thousands of migrating and wintering waterfowl.