Pray for snow

Pioneer Press

Fort Jones, CA 96032

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

page 1, col 2

pioneerp@sisqtel.net

Recent snows have farmers and ranchers breathing a sigh of relief, thankful that February hasn't passed us by without dumping much-needed water on Siskiyou's fertile fields.
But some are still concerned that it's not nearly enough to make up for the virtual drought of rain and snow in December and January.

"Take a look at the Scott River and Kidder Creek," said Scott Valley rancher Craig Chenoweth. "It's still not nearly as full as it should be this time of year."

Indeed, recent measurements in the southern portion of Scott Valley indicate that the snow pack is about 40 percent of normal, with an average water content of 35 percent. The depth of snow two weeks ago ranged from just under three feet at Swampy John to eight inches of snow atop Scott Mountain - although the last two weeks have seen another 14 inches.

"We're going to need 10 times that to get us through the summer," Chenoweth predicted.

While ground aquifers will likely be filled soon, he said, that water will be quickly pumped to feed thirsty fields when the weather turns warmer and the first crop of alfalfa hay is grown.

"By June 1, we'll need the stuff on the mountains to get us through," Chenoweth said.

Snow is great in the low-lands now, he said, because it slowly percolates into the aquifers.

 

It's better than rain, which has a tendency to wash downriver. But what happens in the mountains will determine our future, he said.

"When it snows up high, then freezes, then rains again, then snows and freezes, you get an icing effect," Chenoweth said.

As that thick ice melts over the summer, it re-fills aquifers typically quickly pumped dry during the early months of Spring.

"We have some of the best alfalfa in the state," Chenoweth said. "That's because, when the rest of the state is hot and dry, we've still got the water to grow high-protein hay."

Hay accounted for nearly $50 million of Scott Valley and Siskiyou County's $65 million crop value in 2007, followed closely by timber, which accounted for $60 million in 2007. Siskiyou hay carries a premium price in markets down south, especially in the late summer months.