Weekend Template

By Micah Drew, Jordan Hansen and Keila Szpaller

“Across Montana, we are experiencing a persistent and extreme drought. After an unseasonably warm and dry winter, I hope all Montanans will join me in this prayer for rain for the fields of our farmers, for the flow of our rivers and streams, and to mitigate the intensity of our wildfires. Prayer is the most powerful tool we have. I ask Montanans who are faithful to join Susan and me in coming to God with thanks and praying for rain.” ~ Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte declaring May 17 a statewide day of prayer for rain

Montana’s snowpack is not looking too good as we hit the last month of spring.

According to the latest water supply outlook report put out by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, the state’s watersheds have varied conditions across aspect and elevation, but much of the state is “well below normal snowpack.”

“This year, most sites recorded substantial peak snowpack deficits ranging from 1 to 14 inches below normal,” Florence Miller, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Hydrologist said. “Thirty-one SNOTELs measured their lowest peak snowpack values on record.”

According to the report, snowpack accumulation has passed its peak across the state and is transitioning to snowmelt and the runoff season. While there has been a good amount of precipitation across the state this water year — helped by early-season storms — “spring precipitation will be vital to mitigate the effects of this winter on water supply deficits and drought conditions.”

Most of Montana’s river basins are sitting at from 40% to 100% of normal snow water equivalent — a measure of the amount of moisture contained within snowpack — with some worsening conditions over the last month, especially in the Sun-Teton-Marias basin, and some sub-basins in the northwest.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service report states that 48 SNOTEL sites monitored were fully melted out by May 1, one to two months earlier than normal for many sites.

Most of Montana is classified as under drought conditions by the U.S. Drought Monitor, especially east of the divide. Severe drought conditions have developed around Sidney, and extreme drought persists in the southwest and the greater Golden Triangle region, according to the report.

Across the state, 87% of Montana is classified under a drought condition, up 10% from this time last year.

All this leads to the agency’s streamflow and water supply forecasts, updated every month.

Due to the winter’s deficits, “most areas of the state still predict below normal streamflow.”

Among the handful of exceptions for the next few months are tributaries of the Upper Clark Fork and Bitterroot Rivers, and drainages in the Swan and Mission Mountain ranges, along with headwaters in the high elevation Absaroka-Beartooth ranges.

The full report can be read online.

All of this brings us back to the quote that started off the weekend newsletter — Gov. Greg Gianforte has proclaimed that Sunday, May 17, will be a “Day of Prayer for Rain,” with an invitation for all Montanans who are faithful to pray for rain.

If praying isn’t your thing, might I suggest trying out this rain dance from How I Met Your Mother?

~ Micah Drew

Last weekend, I ended up doing some camping and hiking in a couple of places, both in southwest Montana. One of my favorite parts of living and working in Butte many moons ago was taking a camera out and getting out into Beaverhead, Deer Lodge and Granite counties.

So that’s what I did for part of last weekend. I stayed on Forest Service land both nights, with the second at Copper Creek Campground in the Pintler Ranger District in Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest.

It’s been almost six years since I’ve stayed overnight there, and it’s a great little fishing and side-by-side spot. I also really love the drive there, and I had a good time testing out a rebuild of my four-wheel drive that I did not have much of an opportunity to use this winter.

It was a couple of real quiet nights, and I’m a huge fan of staying up late and staring at the stars, which I did a lot of.

It was also really interesting seeing some regrowth in the area after a fire about a decade ago. There’s still some snags, and it’s important to be aware of the trees, but burns — and what happens after — have been at the top of mind lately, and it was cool to see that recovery in real time.

I hope you all (if it’s something you love!) have a chance to get out and get on some public land this weekend.

~ Jordan Hansen

A while back I put out a call for reading recommendations and received a happy flood of emails suggesting many books, which have all ended up on my “to be read” list.

One recommendation that I have gotten came from reader Steve Glow, who suggested I read “The Water Knife,” by Paolo Bacigalupi, a science fiction dystopian set in a future drought-ravaged version of the American Southwest.

The book follows a detective/assassin/spy known as a “water knife” who hunts for water sources, and more importantly water rights, on behalf of his employer.

It also follows a journalist trying to unravel the truth behind political corruption, fights over water scarcity and the lengths individuals in various communities go through to survive.

It seemed fitting to throw this book rec into the newsletter this weekend given the sad state of Montana’s water supply … although it is currently raining outside my window so perhaps fortunes are about to change — even before the governor gets his appeal to the above.

Happy reading.

~ Micah Drew

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