8-K

                                  UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                              Washington, DC 20549

                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT
                Pursuant to Section 13 OR 15(d) of the Securities

              Exchange Act of 1934 Date of Report (Date of earliest
              event reported) October 24, 2008 (October 21, 2008)

                                COLUMBIA BANCORP
                               ------------------
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its chapter)

           Oregon                      0-27938                   93-1193156
           -------                     -------                   ----------
(State or other jurisdiction         (Commission                (IRS Employer
      of incorporation)              File Number)            Identification No.)

                        401 East Third Street, Suite 200,
                            The Dalles, Oregon 97058
                    (Address of principal executive offices)

                                 (541) 298-6649
              (Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

                                 Not Applicable
          (Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to
simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the
following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

|_|   Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17
      CFR 230.425)

|_|   Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
      240.14a-12)

|_|   Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the
      Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

|_|   Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the
      Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))



Item 5.02. Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors;
Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.

      On October 21, 2008, Greg B. Spear resigned as Vice Chair and Chief
Financial Officer of Columbia Bancorp (the "Company") and Columbia River Bank
(the "Bank"), effective as of November 3, 2008. Mr. Spear has served as Vice
Chair of the Company and the Bank since September, 2007 and as the Chief
Financial Officer of the Company and the Bank since June, 2001.

      Staci L. Coburn, CPA, the Bank's Corporate Vice President and Chief
Accounting Officer will continue to oversee the Bank's financial management team
and corporate business services. A copy of the press release is furnished as
Exhibit 99.1 to this report and is incorporated by reference.


                                   SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.


Dated: October 24, 2008                    /s/ Terry L. Cochran
                                           ---------------------------------
                                           Terry L. Cochran,
                                           President and Chief Executive Officer

EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1 Press Release

                   Columbia Bancorp Announces CFO Departure

    THE DALLES, Ore., Oct. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Columbia Bancorp
(Nasdaq: CBBO) today announced that Greg Spear has resigned as Chief Financial
Officer (CFO) for Columbia River Bank and Columbia Bancorp. Spear is relocating
with his family to Bellingham, Washington where he accepted the CFO position at
Horizon Bank. Columbia River Bank's Chief Accounting Officer, Staci Coburn, will
assume the CFO duties.

    "Greg has served as an integral part of helping build Columbia Bancorp over
the past several years," says Columbia River Bank's President and CEO, Terry
Cochran. "We thank him for his contributions and wish him the best at Horizon
Bank."

    Staci Coburn, CPA, is a 10 year member of Columbia River Bank's finance team
and will continue to lead the bank's financial management team and corporate
business services. "We're fortunate to have Staci's remarkable financial
experience and banking insights during these extraordinary economic times,"
added Cochran.

    With the recent announcement of veteran banker Terry Cochran as President
and CEO, Columbia Bancorp and Columbia River Bank is committed to building a
solid leadership foundation as the bank returns to its roots, focused on
exceptionally servicing its valued community customers.

    ABOUT COLUMBIA BANCORP

    Columbia Bancorp (http://www.columbiabancorp.comis the financial holding
company for Columbia River Bank, which operates 22 branches located in The
Dalles (2), Hood River, Bend (3), Madras, Redmond (2), Pendleton, Hermiston,
McMinnville, Lake Oswego, Canby, and Newberg, Oregon, and in Goldendale, White
Salmon, Sunnyside, Yakima, Vancouver, Pasco and Richland, Washington. To
supplement its community banking services, Columbia River Bank also provides
brokerage services through CRB Financial Services Team.

    FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

    This press release contains various forward-looking statements about plans
and anticipated results of operations and financial condition relating to
Columbia Bancorp. These statements include statements about management's present
plans and intentions about our strategy, growth, and deployment of resources,
and about management's expectations for future financial performance. Readers
can sometimes identify forward-looking statements by the use of prospective
language and context, including words like "may", "will", "should", "expect",
"anticipate", "estimate", "continue", "plans", "intends", or other similar
terminology. Because forward-looking statements are, in part, an attempt to
project future events and explain management's current plans, they are subject
to various risks and uncertainties which could cause our actions and our
financial and operational results to differ materially from those set forth in
such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, our
ability to estimate accurately the collectability of our loans, economic and
other factors which affect the collectability of our loans, the impact of
banking laws and regulations, competition, and fluctuations in market interest
rates on Columbia's revenues and margins, management's ability to generate
growth from core operations in the face of the announced staffing reductions,
and other risks and uncertainties that we have in the past, or that we may from
time to time in the future, detail in our filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Information presented in this release is accurate
as of the date on which the release was issued, and we cannot undertake to
update our forward-looking statements or the factors that may cause us to
deviate from them, except as required by law.

CONTACT:  Terry  L. Cochran
          President and CEO
          +1-541-298-6633
          tcochran@columbiariverbank.com

          or

          Staci L. Coburn
          CVP and CAO
          +1-541-298-3169
          scoburn@columbiariverbank.com

both of Columbia Bancorp

Web site:  http://www.columbiabancorp.com