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

Excerpts from the report: The Malheur Lake Drainage Basin is located in southeastern Oregon. It is bounded by the Goose and Summer Lakes Basin and the Deschutes River Basin on the west, by the John Day River Basin on the north, by the Malheur River Basin and the Owyhee River Basin on the east, and the state of Nevada on the south. The total area is 6,377,600 acres or about 10.4 percent of the state of Oregon. It contains 80.2 percent of Harney County, 10.8 percent of Lake County, 10.0 percent of Grant County, 4.9 percent of Malheur County, and 0.6 percent of Crook County. For the purpose of this report, the basin was divided into four sub-basins--Silvies, Donner und Blitzen, Silver Creek, and Alvord-Catlow. Approximately 73 percent of the land area of the Malheur Lake Drainage Basin is owned and managed by the U. S. Government. About 4 percent is owned by state, county, and municipal governments. The remaining 23 percent is privately owned. This report prepared by the USDA River Basin Survey Staff presents information concerning the water and related land resources of the Malheur Lake Drainage Basin. Its purpose is (1) to provide information of past and present uses of water and related land resources; (2) to supply 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 probable directions 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.