Amid drought, Colorado rafters flock to oases whereas they will | Journey And Outside

FORT COLLINS, Colorado – Across Colorado, dry rivers have hit some of the lowest levels on record. But on one that has been spared by the drought, children and guides swing happily while the water splashes into their blue rubber dinghies.

The summer activities on the Cache La Poudre River in northeastern Colorado reflect the precarious situation of rivers and lakes in arid regions. Rafters and boaters eager to enjoy the remaining oases for as long as they can, and businesses hoping to weather a drought-threatened season.

“Every time you make a living by Mother Nature, you’re definitely dealing with a pretty turbulent environment,” said Kyle Johnson, whose whitewater rafting company Rocky Mountain Adventures is fully booked seven days a week.

Johnson said the booming demand on the river was a “release” from the last season of rafting, which was disrupted by the pandemic and forest fires. But the river’s healthy water level could not last much longer. Johnson notes that the drought could end prematurely this season as well.

“It’s a bit bittersweet,” said Savannah House, a Fort Collins resident who recently rafted on the Poudre, pointing out the extreme conditions elsewhere in the state.

Those who rely on rivers and streams for a living have struggled with the hotter, drier weather caused by climate change for years.

Rising temperatures have resulted in dwindling and less reliable amounts of mountain snowpack, which typically pour off from great heights to replenish the water table. What trickles down is more likely to be soaked up in the dry, thirsty ground before it reaches the river – an awkward situation that has already occurred in many places this year.

“We are really seeing how the drought last year affected all of our water catchment areas and water resources,” said Karl Wetlaufer, hydrologist at the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation.

Now the heat wave that is sweeping the region is increasing worries and affecting even simple, once self-evident leisure activities.

The Yampa River in northwest Colorado experiences some of the lowest current flows of all time due to sub-par snow cover, increasingly arid soil, and hot, dry spring weather. In Steamboat Springs, a recreation center along the river, rafting and kayaking ended a few weeks ago, and fishing and tubing could also be over soon if the water goes much deeper.

“We have known since 2002, when this mega-drought began, that our climate has shifted to a hotter, drier future. And the future is now, ”said Kent Vertrees of Friends of the Yampa. The conservation group has received funding from the Walton Family Foundation, which also supports The Associated Press’s coverage of water and environmental policy.

To alleviate the conditions, conservation groups and water authorities have created a way to release water from an upstream reservoir. That helped “keep the fish wet, cool the river and increase the oxygen levels in the river,” Vertrees said.

Poplars have also been planted to shade the river and cool it down when water runs low. It is unclear to what extent such measures help to maintain the water level.