KOTA Territory NewsDrought's long-term effects beginning to show

Drought's long-term effects beginning to show

By Matt Hunter

The prolonged drought that's now gone on for eight years in western South Dakota, is as bad as some in the forest industry have ever seen.

"In the time that I've been here, which is about 20 years, this is the worst I've seen," said Patti Lynch, a wildlife biologist with the Black Hills National Forest.

A new report from the Izaak Walton League of America says the long term effects have begun to show up in the state's wildlife populations. 
 
"Streams are drying up, stock ponds are drying up, so animals are having to search out and move to where they can find water," Lynch said.
 
The drought is also impacting forest lands.
 
"It makes less water available for trees, so the it stresses trees out," said Les Gonyer, also with the National Forest.  "Insects can come attack and kill the trees.
 
And perhaps most of all, it's damaging rivers and streams.
 
"We're seeing populations of fish that are down and also not as many big fish," said William Sayler, from the Cleghorn Springs Fish Hatchery.
 
With limited rain and snowfall, water levels drop, sending water temperatures up to dangerous levels.
 
"If you get water temperatures over 75 degrees, that's lethal for our trout species," Sayler said.  "We have approached those levels in some places and probably lost fish because of high temperatures."
 
The report even finds that South Dakota is in danger of losing up to 90 percent of its wetlands, which could reduce breeding duck populations by as much as 70 percent.

With the length of the drought nearing a decade, experts say it's going to take more than the snowfall we received this year.

"The hydrological drought can last for ten years after the precipitation comes, because it takes awhile to recharge the groundwater," Gonyer said.
 
Even so, they say a late spring snowfall can go a long way.
 
"One massive blizzard in the right spot with the right temperatures could really make a lot of difference and fill up our reservoirs," Sayler said.

The Izaak Walton League of America study surveyed conditions in nine of the nation's top hunting and fishing regions.