Exhibit 99.1

               COLUMBIA BANCORP ANNOUNCES STOCK REPURCHASE PROGRAM

     THE DALLES, Ore., June 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Columbia Bancorp
(Nasdaq: CBBO), parent company of Columbia River Bank, today announced its Board
of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program for up to $1.5 million of
its common stock. Since August 23, 2003, the company has invested approximately
$614,000 to repurchase and retire 35,570 shares of its common stock.

     This repurchase program will be used to regulate capital and neutralize the
effects from exercised stock options. The company intends to finance the
purchases using its available cash. The company may repurchase shares in open
market purchases or in privately negotiated transactions as permitted under
Securities Exchange Act Rule 10b-18. The repurchase program may be modified,
suspended or terminated by the Board of Directors at any time without notice.
The extent to which the company repurchases its shares and the timing of such
repurchases will depend upon market conditions and other corporate
considerations. The company currently has 9.9 million shares of common stock
outstanding and its stock closed at $24 per share on June 2, 2006.

     "We have renewed our annual stock repurchase program because we believe
repurchases and regular cash dividends are excellent ways to share our success
with stockholders," said Roger L. Christensen, President & CEO. "Over time,
share repurchase programs have demonstrated their effectiveness in improving
return on equity and earnings per share, while providing market support for the
stock."

     ABOUT COLUMBIA BANCORP

     Columbia Bancorp (www.columbiabancorp.com) is the financial holding company
for Columbia River Bank, which operates 23 branches located in The Dalles (2),
Hood River, Bend (4), Madras, Redmond (2), Pendleton, Hermiston, McMinnville
(3), Canby and Newberg, Oregon, and in Goldendale, White Salmon, Pasco,
Sunnyside, Yakima and Richland, Washington. To supplement its community banking
services, Columbia River Bank also provides mortgage-lending services through
its Columbia River Bank Mortgage Group and brokerage services through its
affiliation with CRB Financial Services.

     NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

     Forward-looking statements with respect to the financial condition, results
of operations and the business of Columbia, as well as the plans and present
intentions of management and the board of directors, are subject to certain
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those set forth in such statements. Readers should not construe these
statements as assurances of performance or as guarantees of a particular course
of action, and some factors that could cause us to deviate from our plans or to
vary from our expectations include the impact of competition and interest rates
on revenues and margins, the trading volume and price of our stock, and other
risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in Columbia's public
announcements and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC").
Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking
terminology, such as "may," "will," "should," "expect," "anticipate,"
"estimate," "continue," "plans," "intends," or other similar terminology.
Columbia does not intend to publicly release any revisions to these
forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of
this press release, other than in its periodic filings with the SEC, or to
reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

SOURCE  Columbia Bancorp
    -0-                             06/06/2006
    /CONTACT:  Roger L. Christensen, President and CEO, +1-541-298-6633, or
rchristensen@columbiabancorp.com, or Greg B. Spear, Executive Vice President
and CFO, +1-541-298-6612, or gspear@columbiabancorp.com, both of Columbia
Bancorp/
    /Web site:  http://www.columbiabancorp.com/