Drought could put damper on recreation

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Low reservoirs threaten to strand boat ramps and force holiday campers to find new swimming holes and water-skiing spots.

Park and forest rangers predict an unusually early blitz of high-country hikers and a mountain-climbing season in which ancient glacier crevasses yawn open sooner and wider.

Wildlife managers expect a busy summer of shuttling hungry animals around as the search for food brings critters closer to campgrounds and agricultural crops.

A longer fire season. A shorter flower season.

From the Olympic Peninsula to Eastern Oregon's sage-and-dust river valleys, outdoor enthusiasts may see signs of the Northwest's drought this summer in ways as dramatic as dry streambeds, or as subtle as engorged pine cones.

On this kickoff weekend for summer recreation, those who work the public lands are preparing for the worst while insisting that low moisture can't be characterized as good or bad. Sometimes, it's merely different.

"It's kind of like that bumper sticker: Drought happens," joked Madonna Luers, spokeswoman for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife in Spokane. "It's a part of the cycle. We just have to deal with the repercussions."

On Snoqualmie Pass, Keechelus and Kachess lakes are so low that Forest Service officials fear a few troublemakers will careen through the mud in four-wheelers, further stressing sensitive lake bottoms.

Boat launches at places from from Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area near Grand Coulee Dam to smaller lakes in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest were stranded earlier this year, but swift mountain runoff was quickly returning water to many - sometimes by as much as a foot a day.

At Olympic National Park, some popular trails on Hurricane Ridge that are typically snow-covered until early July already were melted out, while the typical glacier-travel season on Mount Olympus was expecting to end early.

At Mount Rainier National Park, which saw roughly 300 inches less snow than normal this year, snow already has receded a few feet from the parking lot at the Paradise Inn. Two years ago this weekend, 30-foot snow drifts blocked the view from the lower windows.

That means backpackers and climbers may face surprises.

Streams used by trail hikers for water are expected to dry up earlier in the year. Some usually snow-covered climbing routes already are showing exposed rock, which limits anchor-placement options and raises the potential danger from poor footing and rock fall. Some snow bridges across hidden crevasses already have fallen, and warming temperatures mean more danger from falling ice.

"Some of the climbs will simply be more treacherous sooner," said Rainier Ranger Rick Kirschner.

Park officials fear nice days will draw more inexperienced trekkers to the mountains, a situation Olympic National Park officials believe contributed to a season in the mid-1990s with a record-setting four fatalities.

"The analysis was that the weather was so good and warm that it created a situation where more people were trying things that were probably beyond their capabilities," said Olympic Park spokeswoman Barbara Maynes.

Rafters and kayakers already are experiencing early, swift water from runoff. But they're expecting a summer of smaller rapids on the Wenatchee River - a prime spot for white-knuckle river running.

Conditions vary from river to river and rapid to rapid.

Only slightly below-normal flows on the Skykomish had outfitter Chris Jonason encouraging river dogs to venture out in more flexible inflatable kayaks and suggesting slower water would make summer 2001 a good one for beginners. However, in drier areas, such as Hells Canyon and Idaho's Salmon River, whitewater guides fretted about having enough water for late-season trips.

And on Oregon's big whitewater river, the Rogue, bookings are at a record pace, but experienced guides point out that some sections could get problematic right away. The Wildcat and Tyee rapids on the Rogue grow more technical and dangerous in low water, while Blossom Bar - the river's most famous - gets easier.

"There is some really bizarre behavior on some of these rivers," said Jim Johnson, owner of Whitewater Warehouse in Corvallis, Ore. "Beginners need to be cautious that they don't equate low water with safe water."

All these issues hinge on how hot and dry it gets this summer. In some areas, drought conditions remain moderate, and cool temperatures and June rains could further soften the blow.

Recent rains seemed to have stabilized water supplies, especially in Western Washington, officials say. The water content of snowpack in the Cedar, Green, Snoqualmie, Puyallup and White river basins hovers above 70 percent of normal. But in Eastern Washington, from the Walla Walla to the Columbia and Methow, water content ranges from 8 percent of normal to a high of 47 percent.

The region's park, forest and grassland managers are just trying to stay nimble.

Already, state wildlife managers have discussed potential food shortages for everything from big game to skunks and raccoons.

If summer is dry, grazing elk and browsing deer will be drawn to irrigated wheat, bean and hay fields, and nuisance critters will head for gardens - all of which can draw cougars into lowlands. A dry August also could mean poor huckleberry crops, which would send foraging black bears out of the highlands and into campgrounds.

If conditions grow extreme, whitetail deer in late summer could face a deadly blue-tongue epidemic, a disease carried by gnats. While it can't be passed from deer to deer, dry summers tend to concentrate entire populations of deer around a few watering holes, where disease-carrying gnats survive until the weather gets cold and wet.

"We could have all these problems in spades this year," Luers said.

Forest Service hydrologist Bruce McCammon said low water means higher water temperatures, which affect more than just fish. They can also cause high algae growth, which prompts pH changes. While not typically serious enough to affect bugs and other aquatic life, "it's an irritant to (human) skin and it smells," he said.

Meanwhile, in Olympic National Park, an earlier-than-usual wildflower season means the annual assault of yellow jackets and hornets, typical of July and August, will likely come sooner but may still last as long.

Still, other natural phenomena are more fascinating than troubling. Ted Thomas, an ecologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has noticed that coastal-spruce and mountain-fir cone crops are extraordinarily heavy.

"A lot of trees, when the environment becomes more stressful, put a lot of energy into reproduction," he said. "Are all these conifers saying `Wow, this is going to be a bad year, so we have to put out a lot of seedlings?' Could be."

All the wildlife management and recreation activities could be dramatically altered by fire - the most potent drought-related threat to the region this summer.

While wildland-fire managers are loath to predict fire seasons, they admit early warning signs give them pause.

Two weeks ago, lightning ignited a small fire in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest - a rarity this early in the season. Even though the fire was in snow-powdered trees at 5,600 feet, it quickly spread to 14 acres and produced flames nearly 60 feet high.

Last week, fire specialists were cutting "cookies"-- hacking 20-inch-wide logs and slicing off slabs a few inches thick - and taking them to the lab. Moisture content that should be above 20 percent was in the low teens.

"Any way you slice it, we're easily a month or two ahead of schedule," said Herb Eliason, on the Chelan Ranger District.

Craig Welch can be reached at 206-464-2093 or cwelch@seattletimes.com.