Spring came to the Tetons several weeks ahead of schedule this year and the rivers are no exception.
“There’s every reason to believe we had peak flow [on the Snake River] last Thursday on May 14th,” said Kathy Lynch, Jackson Hole Trout Unlimited’s Wyoming water policy advisor.
A more typical peak is late May or early June, with flows ranging 17,000 to 19,000 cubic feet per second, Lynch said. But last week’s peak measured in Snake River Canyon, north of Alpine, reached just over 12,000 CFS.
Though it may seem counterintuitive, the drought could mean a good season is still around the corner for river users, at least this year. Experts caution next year could be much worse if the snowpack doesn’t rebound over the winter.
This spring’s melt out started upwards of 40 days earlier than average in the Teton and Snake River ranges, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s snow surveys. That’s due to record-setting warm temperatures all season long, but especially March, which saw the month’s five hottest days on record.
Much of the Mountain West is experiencing what’s called a warm snow drought, characterized by warmer temperatures amid a low snowpack and less consistent precipitation. Almost all of the county is in some level of drought.
“We don’t have as much snow stored up in the mountains to melt out over the summer and help supply water into all the river systems,” Lynch said.
In the short-term, this year’s releases could create more habitat options for fish in the Snake River’s side channels — though, the tributaries that don’t get water from the dam will see the opposite effect. Warmer water temperatures could also lead to voluntary fishing closures later in the summer.
Low water could spell trouble for the Palisades Reservoir, which could lose its ability to generate power should levels get too low. At a meeting in Jackson last week, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said that to help, it would release more water than average from the Jackson Lake Dam, at around 2,500 cubic feet per second for now.
“How May, June, July, August and September turn out, temperature and precipitation-wise, are really gonna be good drivers on where the reservoir system ends up this fall,” said Brian Stevens at last week’s meeting, chief engineer of the Jackson Lake Dam.
But downstream water concerns doesn’t mean river runners will be up a creek all summer long.
“In order for irrigators in Idaho to get the water they need to water their crops, more water than normal will be released out of Jackson Lake,” Lynch said.
A steadier flow of releases throughout the summer is good news for whitewater enthusiasts on the Snake River, including Rendezvous River Sports owner Aaron Pruzan.
“Just a perfect level for kayaking,” Pruzan, who also runs Jackson Hole Kayak School, said about the end of the season. “Maybe a teeny bit low on the rafting side, but not terrible.”
While the skier in him would have preferred a long drawn-out winter, Pruzan took advantage of the sparse valley snow and got out on the river in March. Ramps opened up weeks earlier than normal, offering unprecedented early season access.
“It was a great year if you wanted to be paddling early,” Pruzan said, “we’re going to pay for it a little bit later on.”
He’s optimistic that the Bureau’s consistent releases will keep boating season fun through September. For more serious whitewater recreators, he said the early season access has been looking up for Idaho’s famous stretches of water, like the Selway and the Middle Fork of the Salmon River.
The Bureau of Reclamation said the Jackson Lake Dam could get low by the end of September if the summer forecast stays true to hot, warm and dry as is expected. But until then, Pruzan said it’ll be a good year to be a newcomer as lower flow can be less intimidating.
New inlets and coves may appear on some of the Tetons’ larger lakes, offering more reprieve to paddlers, though time will tell if that creates early season closures for marinas.
If anything, wildfire smoke is more of a concern than a water shortage for business. Pruzan recalls past years when clients pulled trips citing relentless haze or poor air quality from local or regional fires.
This story has been update to correct that the Snake River side channels could be filled in more than the tributaries. A grammatical error in the headline has also been fixed. — Ed.
