For Mike Vickrey, a rancher in Wyoming's Upper Green River Valley, this summer delivered another harsh lesson about the unpredictability of water in the arid West.
Despite what appeared to be a promising winter snowpack, Vickrey had to shut off irrigation to his hay meadows about 10 days earlier than normal.
"The winter was OK, although I don't think it was as good as all the SNOTEL (snowpack telemetry) were telling us," Vickrey told Cowboy State Daily. "The grass was so dry, it just took more moisture to suck up into the ground early."
Vickrey wonders if early water cutoffs are here to stay as all the states in the Colorado River Basin continue to negotiate how to manage Lake Mead and Lake Powell downstream as less and less water flows through a watershed stretching from the Wind River Mountains to Mexico’s Sea of Cortez.
Since 1897, the Vickrey ranch has drawn water from the Upper Green River.
Lately, hay production has fluctuated from around 2,500 tons in good years down to 1,600 tons or less in bad years.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member