JH Underground – news, sports and music blog from Jackson Hole, Wyoming news, sports and music blog from Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Heading into a second year of drought with reservoirs already drawn down and snow melting fast, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is planning to release nearly twice as much water as usual in the Snake River this summer.

Barring prolonged wet weather, water managers will release 4,000 cubic feet per second from Jackson Lake Dam through September.

The agency projects to draw down Jackson Lake reservoir to about 18 percent of capacity. At best, the bureau will fill Palisades Reservoir to about 50 percent of capacity before draining it nearly dry to meet irrigation needs in Idaho.

Mike Beus, BuRec operations manager, presented his projections along with weather forecasts at the agency’s annual water meeting last night in Jackson. A crowd of anglers, irrigators, farmers and rafting guides attended.

Beus painted a stark picture of less water available for storage in the basin, temperatures skyrocketing to 90 degrees in Boise last week and snow melting in the high country above Jackson Lake at a rate of 2 inches per day. While this weekend’s cool, wet weather offers some relief, temperatures were 10 degrees above average for the first half of May, he said.

“The normals are changing,” he said.

Read More…

Posted under Economy, Environment, Sports

Tags: fishing, river running, snake river

With 9 inches of snow reported yesterday and more falling today, April already has surpassed January for snowfall in the Tetons, as a typically dreary mountain spring masquerades for prolonged winter.

The Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center has measured 52 inches of snowfall in Rendezvous Bowl so far this month, compared to 45 inches for all of January, which was plagued by cold drought.

The center ceased issuing avalanche and weather forecasts yesterday but will continue to post automated readings for temperature, wind and snowfall.

The water content of the snowpack in the upper Snake River basin above Jackson Lake now measures 106 percent of average — which is about right, after an average winter.

Props to the spring break-starved prankster who made his or her feelings known about the weather last Tuesday along Pearl Avenue. For the winter weary, relief is on the way, with the National Weather Service calling for sunny and near 60 by the end of the week.

Posted under Environment, Ski Resorts, Sports, Weather

Tags: powder, skiing, snake river, snowboarding

Following a three-month investigation by Grand Teton National Park, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has decided not to press charges against three hunters who shot and killed a grizzly bear on Thanksgiving morning.

The investigation found that the hunters — David Trembly, 48, of Dubois, and his two sons, ages 20 and 17 — hit the bear with bullets and pepper spray “at nearly the same instant,” according to a park release. The report, made in consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, concludes the three acted in self-defense, and the encounter lasted fewer than 10 seconds.

The bear was a male, estimated to be 18 to 20 years old, and weighed 534 pounds. It had been feeding on an elk carcass nearby and likely was defending its food, biologists said.

Read More…

Posted under Crime, Environment, Politics, Sports

Tags: bears, grand teton national park, hunting, snake river, wildlife

After devoting much of the fall to multimedia projects, travel and other assignments, photographer David Stubbs has restarted his blog, A Vivid Eye.

Rousing the site from slumber, Stubbs has compiled a selection of his favorite landscapes, sports action, portraits and newsy images from 2012, including a dramatic shot of the Little Horsethief Fire cresting the ridge atop Cache Creek.

The News&Guide, too, put together a reel of its best photographs of the year.

When not shooting the likes of Dick Cheney (for a documentary film) or hanging from a rope in the Apocalypse Couloir, Stubbs often focuses his lens on his own backyard and produces stunning beauty from scenes of everyday life. Glimpses of those moments should give readers plenty to look forward to in 2013.

Posted under Art, Media

Tags: david stubbs, photography, snake river

Tonight Jackson-Teton County Parks and Recreation and the Snake River Fund will host an open house to help plan the future of BLM parcels along the Snake.

The open house is from 5 to 7 p.m. at the 4-H building, 255 W. Deloney Ave., adjacent to Miller Park. The county will present results of its user survey, along with maps and projected timelines for improving the Wilson and South Park access points. Representatives from WyDOT, Wyoming Game and Fish, Bridger-Teton National Forest and outfitters also will participate.

The decision over how to manage the Snake between Wilson and South Park is likely to be contentious. Already, John Wasson and other river advocates have called for limiting commercial use on the 13-mile stretch, while outfitters have drafted their own management plan.

Read More…

Posted under County Government, Economy, Environment, Politics, Sports

Tags: fishing, river running, snake river