Flows on the Big Hole River are a fraction of normal, a state of affairs that will likely effect the area’s few remaining Fluvial Grayling. This from the Montana Standard (via Ralph Maughan’s excellent conservation blog):
The river, as of Monday, was flowing at 23 cubic feet per second at the Wisdom bridge, a paltry 13 percent its normal flow for this time of year and an ominous sign that this will be a tough summer for stream flows. The sharp decline in the river’s flow has prompted the Big Hole Watershed Committee to ask irrigators to cut back on the water they are taking out of the river.
You might recall the tiny remnant population of Fluvial Grayling in the Big Hole was recently denied ESA protection in what is ongoing administration war against environmental protections, and these low flows don’t exactly help.
Apparently local ranchers are giving up some of their water allotments and a fishing closure will likely go into effect, but it’s clear — with no rain in the forecast — it’s going to be a long, hot summer for Grayling.
It’s great to see the ranchers doing their part, but it’s maddening to think that Western water law is so out of touch with reality that entitlements are guaranteed regardless of river flows, snowpack or rain. Expect to see this story played out all summer long — all over the West.
[tags]big hole, grayling, water rights, western water wars[/tags]
It is amazing to hear that ranchers are giving up some water rights. Normally, they are the bottle neck in changing water laws. Unfortunately, for a long time, water strategies and laws in the west have favored big cities and big ranchers with little or no regard to the impact on the environment or fisheries. Hopefully, this will change over the coming years so that there is a more equitable distribution of water that takes the environment and fisheries into mind. otherwise, at the current rate of water consumption, there will be heavy penalties on the environment. In Florida where i am from cities like Tampa and Miami are constructing desalinization plants. These types of plants will drastically reduce the impact a cities water usage will have on the environment and should be able to support the local farming industry. If the west was to implement a similar strategy river flows may increase over time.
John
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