03-10-2004, 12:55 AM
[font "Arial Black"][size 4]Sakakawea spawn forecast is good
[/size][/font]
Timing is everything when it comes to this year’s walleye and smelt spawn on North Dakota’s Lake Sakakawea.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is projecting adequate water levels for the big lake during the April spawn, but it all depends on rain and runoff of mountain snow pack, said Jody Farhat, an engineer for the corps in Omaha, Neb.
The corps released its forecast for March last week. The agency says Lake Sakakawea could gain elevation during the spawn, and eventually rise about four more feet this summer.
Mountain snow pack was near normal on March 3, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service said.
Lake Sakakawea set a record low in February and ended the month at an elevation of 1814.3 feet above sea level. The previous record low was 1815 feet set in February 1991.
In past years, the corps attempted to favor one of the big three reservoirs, Sakakawea, Montana’s Fort Peck Lake or South Dakota’s Lake Oahe, to ensure at least one has a successful spawn.
Smelt spawn in shallow water and declining reservoir levels could strand eggs.
Farhat said the corps is making slight adjustments to releases from North Dakota’s Garrison Dam and other dams on the river system to balance the upper lakes during the April smelt spawn.
“We’re not favoring one over the other,” Farhat said.
North Dakota Game and Fish Management Supervisor Greg Power said balancing the lakes during the spawn reflects a Missouri River Natural Resource Committee recommendation made several years ago.
Power said he’s hopeful Lake Sakakawea will hold steady or even gain elevation during the spawn.
[signature]
[/size][/font]
Timing is everything when it comes to this year’s walleye and smelt spawn on North Dakota’s Lake Sakakawea.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is projecting adequate water levels for the big lake during the April spawn, but it all depends on rain and runoff of mountain snow pack, said Jody Farhat, an engineer for the corps in Omaha, Neb.
The corps released its forecast for March last week. The agency says Lake Sakakawea could gain elevation during the spawn, and eventually rise about four more feet this summer.
Mountain snow pack was near normal on March 3, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service said.
Lake Sakakawea set a record low in February and ended the month at an elevation of 1814.3 feet above sea level. The previous record low was 1815 feet set in February 1991.
In past years, the corps attempted to favor one of the big three reservoirs, Sakakawea, Montana’s Fort Peck Lake or South Dakota’s Lake Oahe, to ensure at least one has a successful spawn.
Smelt spawn in shallow water and declining reservoir levels could strand eggs.
Farhat said the corps is making slight adjustments to releases from North Dakota’s Garrison Dam and other dams on the river system to balance the upper lakes during the April smelt spawn.
“We’re not favoring one over the other,” Farhat said.
North Dakota Game and Fish Management Supervisor Greg Power said balancing the lakes during the spawn reflects a Missouri River Natural Resource Committee recommendation made several years ago.
Power said he’s hopeful Lake Sakakawea will hold steady or even gain elevation during the spawn.
[signature]