Drought conditions in Montana are likely to persist into early winter, according to Michael Downey, Drought Program coordinator for the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.
Downey was one of several officials to address the Governor’s Drought and Water Supply Advisory Committee in Helena on Thursday, Aug. 15. Taken together, the reports show a mixed bag of conditions across the Treasure State but the general trend was dry, although it’s been worse.
For example, some of the worst conditions are occurring in west-central Montana which has experienced several wildland fires and extremely low flows on the Blackfoot and Clark Fork rivers. For the Blackfoot, the flows are the lowest in 24 years of monitoring resulting in fishing closures and the loss of irrigation water as Fish, Wildlife & Parks made calls to exercise its senior water rights.
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“In fact, the Blackfoot River probably was one of the earliest years where we’ve had to make a call,” said Stephen Begley, water rights and instream flow specialist for FWP.
Even after exercising its water rights, Begley said the streamflow did not increase.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t see any type of bump at all,” he said. “The Blackfoot has just been going down, down, down.”
That was prompted in part by a July that was the 10th warmest on record, with temperatures about 5 to 6 degrees above normal, Downey said. Of course, it didn’t help that last winter was abnormally dry in the region, as was the spring.
Low flows on the Blackfoot endanger the stream’s native bull trout, a threatened species. The same is true of low flows on the Big Hole River where arctic grayling are barely hanging on and rainbow and brown trout have shown signs of stress.
Recent rainstorms, shorter days and cooler nights have prompted Fish, Wildlife & Parks to lift several fishing restrictions, but closures remain on portions of the Big Hole, Madison and the entire Jefferson River.
Across the state since June, stream flows have been below median, according to Aaron Fiaschetti, U.S. Geological Survey hydrologist for Wyoming and Montana. What’s more, there’s little relief in sight as September is typically a dry month.
When compared to past years, this summer’s stream flows are similar to 2016, which was one of the top 20 for all-time worst flows, Fiaschetti noted.
Despite the drought, Cory Calnan, deputy chief of fire protection for the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, said the state has fared well compared to its neighbors to the west this fire season.
A combination of rainfall at the end of July combined with quick initial attacks have kept large fires “fairly muted,” he said. The exception was the Tongue River complex of fires that have combined to burn about 60,000 acres in southeastern Montana, the most in the state this season.
Continued warmer weather and winds will dry out fuels like sagebrush, contributing to a quicker spread of prairie fires, he noted.
Speaking of wind, it’s no surprise to those who’ve spent days cleaning up fallen trees or limbs that Montana has experienced widespread damage from high winds this summer. Storms have struck from Missoula to Billings and Miles City, said Jake Ganieany, of the Department of Military Affairs’ Emergency Services.
“It’s been a crazy year for straight-line winds,” he said, with speeds up to 90 mph.
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Publish date : 2024-08-16 01:00:00
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