WHAT TO DO?
go grouper fishing
.. Not to be too much of an alarmist - BUT - the snow pack is dismal:
-> In the Gallatin drainage, there was only 27 percent of average as of Thursday.
-> In the upper Yellowstone, there was only 32 percent.
-> In the Madison, there was 20 percent.
.. There are other complications:
-> Without well-timed and abundant rains, the coming summer could bring stressed fisheries, dry farm fields and big forest fires.
-> “I'm always crossing my fingers for lots and lots of rainfall,” said Ray Nelson, a firefighting logistics manager who sits on the Governor's Drought Advisory Committee. Nelson noted that National Weather Service long-term predictions say there's a chance of slightly warmer and drier average temperatures through August.“From our standpoint, that means hot and dry,” he said. “And that means fire activity. If that forecast pans out, we'll have an active fire year.”From The Bozeman Daily Chronicle.
.. It can get worse:
-> It's bad enough that snowpack isn't what it used to be, but when what's there melts early, rivers and streams can't maintain healthy flows through the summer. That plays havoc with fish, irrigation, recreation and, in a few cases, municipal water supplies.
-> "May and June are usually our wet months, so that has me a little worried," Meier said.
-> "We're on such a thin margin, things can change on a dime," Meier said. From Billings Gazette.
