Montana's low snowpack this winter has river guides preparing for anything.
Winter precipitation totals fell below average in many areas, and warmer temperatures in March caused the snow to melt sooner, leading to an earlier runoff.
Joe Aanes, a fly fishing guide from Dillon, said people have been booking trips early because of potential issues later in the season.
"People are booking in April and May as they see that the water might be worse come August and September," Aanes observed.
Aanes guides trips on the Beaverhead and Big Hole rivers in southwestern Montana, where he said there was almost no lower elevation snow. He has noticed a pattern over the past four or five years of early runoff in March and April, and by late May and June, river flows are already at summer levels. He emphasized it is too soon to know what this season will look like, and spring moisture – along with Montana's typical late-July and August thunderstorms – could help.
Hilary Hutcheson, outfitter for Glacier Raft Company, has also noticed a trend of lower snowpack and early runoff, sometimes three to five weeks earlier than normal. She said guides plan for all conditions, including low or high water, adding it is a matter of adjusting her clients' expectations, especially if they've done trips at higher elevations in late summer.
"We have to explain to them that things are different now," Hutcheson stressed. "This is a different year. This is a different time. Our river levels are likely not going to allow us to be up and high on the system in late August."
Hutcheson underscored wildfires are a big concern again. She recounted last summer, rain and cooler temperatures in July tamped down wildfires in and around Glacier National Park, and the same thing could happen this year. She added the last thing she wants is for people to cancel their trips because they think it will be a bad water year.
"We need more people to be in the river family to help protect it and talk about it, raise awareness for it," Hutcheson contended. "Staying away from the river is probably, in my opinion, one of the worst things you can do, as long as you're coming to the river in a responsible way."
Forecasters said recent storms have helped precipitation totals but it is too late to make up for the low snowpack.