We didn’t get any snow to speak of through the winter, and we’ve only gotten one good spring storm so far. And looking up at the mountains, it doesn’t look like the high country fared much better. Most of the state is sitting well below 20% of the median snowpack, with some areas at zero. That’s not good.
The plants out there need that moisture to grow, and the fish need the snowmelt to fill up the rivers and streams. The herbivores need those plants to grow to have something to eat, and the carnivores need the herbivores to get fat and happy so they in turn have food. Granted, if there isn’t enough food for the plant eaters, they’ll start getting a lot easier for the meat eaters to catch, but that will only last so long before nobody has enough to eat.
I’m still hopeful we’ll get a series of spring storms that wallop us with several feet of snow in the high country and a hefty amount of rain down in civilization. But the farther we get into the season, the less optimistic I’m getting.
Be prepared for fire bans wherever you camp this summer. The woods are going to be a tinderbox if we don’t get some precipitation. By the time we get to the hunting season, those fire bans will likely be paired with lower quotas and less game to find.
Granted, with gas prices where they are, we probably won’t be going out into the field as often as we’d like, anyway. And if you’re raising any livestock and have to buy hay, the hay prices will further bite into your hunting budget.
But as I said, I still have hope. Maybe we’ll get an unusually wet summer. It’s happened before, so I’m not giving up on it happening again. Think positive thoughts. We might need ‘em.
