Native status: Bigleaf Maple is native to Washington State, but not the Palouse region. It is naturalized here and does well as an ornamental.
 
From NRCS Plant Guide:
Bigleaf maple is a native, long-lived medium to large sized deciduous tree that often grows to eighty feet tall.  
 
Acer macrophyllum is distributed around the coast region of southeastern Alaska, on the West Side of the Cascades and Sierra Nevada from British Columbia through most of California. Acer macrophyllum generally occurs in coarse, gravelly, dry to moist sites, often mixed with red alder, western redcedar, Douglas fir, and western hemlock. It attains its best development near borders of foothills, low mountain streams, and in alluvial river bottoms. Bigleaf maple is an extremely flood tolerant species.
 
The seeds provide food for squirrels, evening grosbeaks, chipmunks, mice, and a variety of birds.  Elk and deer browse the young twigs, leaves, and saplings. 
 
Primary photo credit: Geographer on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5 Deed)
Secondary photo credit: Peter Stevens on Flickr (CC BY 2.0 Deed)