Grand Coulee filled by pumps from the Grand Coulee Dam and forms the first leg of a irrigation system. Canals, siphons, and more dams are used throughout the Columbia Basin, supplying over of farm land. Water has turned the Upper Coulee and surrounding region into a haven for wildlife, including bald eagles. Recreation is a side benefit and includes several lakes, mineral springs, hunting and fishing, and water sports of all kinds. Sun Lakes and Steamboat Rock state parks are both found in the Grand Coulee. However, the lake has also flooded a large area of natural habitat and native hunting grounds,
Grand Coulee Dam (song) the recommendation of Alan Lomax, the BPA hired Guthrie to write a set of propaganda songs about the federal projects to gain support for federal regulation of hydroelectricity. Although the intended documentary film was not completed until 1949, Guthrie's songs were recorded in Portland, Oregon in May 1941. The tune for "Grand Coulee Dam" is based on that of the traditional song, "The Wabash Cannonball". Guthrie's recording was reissued on the Folkways album "Bound For Glory" in 1956, and subsequently on numerous compilations of Guthrie's songs. The song was later recorded by British skiffle musician Lonnie Donegan, whose version entered