RIVER OF THE MONTH
30 YEARS
Big Sheep Creek Big Sheep Creek pours from Canada’s Monashee Mountains and crosses into the remote northeast corner of Washington, where it winds through a broad, lush valley before joining the Columbia River. The valley’s fertile terrain traverses an area known as “the Wedge,” a major travel route for large mammals migrating between the United States and Canada.
Why It Matters
PAT CLAYTON
TOM AND PAT LEESON DIANE HIGDEM
Big Sheep Creek is flanked by pristine wetlands, meadows, ponds and side-streams that nourish everything from insects and trout to bighorn sheep and grizzly bears. The stream is the centerpiece of the Wedge, one of the most important wildlife corridors in the Pacific Northwest. It’s critical for rare and imperiled animals that depend on routes like this for survival.
Fish
Flowing clear and cold from its Monashee Mountain headwaters, Big Sheep Creek is an important refuge for two imperiled trout species: redband rainbow trout, designated a species of special concern, and bull trout, which is a threatened species across the Columbia basin. The creek is also an important source of cold water for the Columbia River, which sustains numerous salmon, steelhead, lamprey and other coldwater fish species. DAVE JENSEN
Wildlife
More than just about anywhere in Washington, the Big Sheep Creek area is known for its large mammals and rare predators like Canada lynx and wolverine. It is ground zero for Washington’s recovering grizzly population and supports caribou, moose, Rocky Mountain elk and the creek’s namesake bighorn sheep. Birds like American peregrine falcon, great gray owl, northern three-toed woodpecker, spruce grouse and goshawk abound.