As we enter into the final months of winter, drought has become a very common word. Typically, Willamette Valley residents are carrying umbrellas and hunching their shoulders against blowing winds and rain this time of year, but not this winter. Large lumbering high pressure systems have kept the Pacific west in dry conditions for much of the fall and winter. The U.S. Drought Monitor says that much of California is in extreme or exceptional drought while Oregon is mostly in severe drought. Snow packs are at historic lows on the high mountain slopes. The lack of moisture and winter winds also produces air and temperature inversions.
A few days after Christmas we hiked through thick, cold fog up the slopes of Mt. Pisgah wearing gloves and heavy sweaters. The very top of the mountain was basked in brilliant sunshine and 65 degree weather. Spencer’s Butte and nearby hills poked through the dense blanket of fog like islands rising off the surface of the ocean.
Sitting atop Mt. Pisgah
Drought means different things to different people. Farmers fear that enough water may not be available to irrigate their vegetables and orchards. Fish biologists shake their heads and point to lakes with little water and streams with no flows, and wonder if salmon will be able to spawn in dry gravel beds. City officials monitor declining reservoirs and worry about providing enough drinking water for their citizens.
Water law in Oregon is very complex and historic. All water in Oregon is publically owned, however water users such as farmers, landowners, and cities must obtain a permit or right to use water from any source. East of the Mississippi River, the right to water was based on whether that resource flowed through your property. West of the Mississippi, these rights are governed by “prior appropriation”, in other words, whoever has the oldest rights is the last to be denied water during low flows. However, if a drought is declared by the Governor in Oregon, then the Water Resources Department can supersede the rights of prior appropriation and allocate water for household consumption and other uses.
This time of year I typically look for the first signs and smells of an early spring. Yesterday, Becca pointed out a clump of yellow crocus flowers in our back yard. I am looking forward to seeing the emerging leaves on early flowering Indian plum shrubs and the first arriving swallows soar through the meadows at Bald Hill Farm. I am also muttering a few incantations and prayers for a wet soaking spring with continuous downpours and blustery winds. I would not mind struggling with wind-blown umbrellas and hunching my shoulders against horizontal rains and stepping over numerous deep mud puddles on city sidewalks. I want muddy pathways, overflowing streams, and wet shoes and trousers.
