After a Winter of Dire Predictions, Boaters’ Access…
After a winter of dire predictions, boaters’ access in the Missouri River system is looking better than expected.
By the second week of May, Lake Sakakawea already was as high as the forecast for month’s end, 1,809.5 feet above mean sea level.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was expected to start releasing more water from Garrison Dam by mid-May to force two protected species of birds to nest on higher ground. Higher flows certainly would raise the level of the Missouri River downstream. Higher releases from Fort Peck Dam upstream to support irrigation are helping with Sakakawea’s elevation.
Considering the region is in its seventh year of drought, it’s all good.
"It could be a lot worse. It’s not bad," said Bob Frohlich, fisheries development supervisor for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.
Even North Dakota’s portion of the lake once known as Oahe is in OK shape.
"It’s pretty close to the same as last year, with the exception of the Hazelton boat ramp being one lane," said Ralph Gabrysch, of the corps’ Bismarck office, who is in charge of boat ramps on upper Lake Oahe. "Fishing activity seems like it’s pretty good."
By the peak of the summer boating season, Frohlich said he expects at least 23 recreation areas on Lake Sakakawea will have usable boat ramps.
During an interview in early May, Frohlich ticked off the latest boat ramps to be moved to the usable list. The ramps at Indian Hills Resort and Sportsmen Centennial are usable. Ramps at Skunk Bay and Camp of the Cross are marginal.
That raised the number of usable ramps on Lake Sakakawea from 13 at the start of May to 17 by mid-May.
Early predictions saw Lake Sakakawea falling to 1,803 feet msl, which would have played havoc on ramps and access.
"The water is up, and a lot of the pressure is off," Frohlich said. "We’re already looking at 1,809.5. We could easily reach the 1,812 mark. It’s better than anyone would have guessed even a month ago."
Below Garrison Dam, ramps are open from the Tailrace to Jennerville (Rivery). The exception is the ramp at Gen. Sibley Park, which is closed.
Farther south, where river conditions have replaced lake conditions, the ramps at Fort Yates, Cattail Bay, Langeliers Bay and State Line are closed.
Only the north lane of the ramp at Hazelton is open.
The south side needs some concrete work, and "maintenance crews are pretty thin," said Gabrysch. Ramps on what once was upper Lake Oahe fall under the jurisdiction of the Pierre, S.D., corps’ office.
With releases from Garrison Dam increasing, the Missouri River will rise accordingly, smoothing out some of the "bumps" boaters have been experiencing when putting in on the River.
"The river is usually least affected by drought, but it is subject to what kind of flows come from GarrisonDam," said Frohlich.
(Reach outdoor writer Richard Hinton at 250-8256 or richard.hinton@bismarcktribune.com.)
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