A Week in Yosemite: High Sierra Drought

Measuring the drought in the Yosemite Valley is as easy as putting a raft in the Merced River. Just ask Sean Costello.

"Usually when we open the season, it’s up against this log here," Costello says, pointing high up the riverbank. "But this year it didn’t even get close to that, unfortunately."

Costello manages the rental operation at Yosemite. He’s been working there for 32 years. And even here in paradise, he says, the drought has an impact.

"The month of May gave me another month of rafting," he says. "I figure at this point we’ll probably have to shut down on the 4th of July."

In normal years, rafting extends into the start of August.  But there is not enough water for that.  Nor is there enough snow.   This winter had the worst Sierra snow pack in recorded history.  For Costello, it was a shock.

"Our ski area… I couldn’t believe it," he says. "We opened up just in time for Christmas. We closed on MLK Day on January 19th."

Deep in a forest south of Wawona, Yosemite’s Gary Wuchner remembers when perfectly dry ground was rare in the early summer.

"I remember coming to the Sierra in May and June, and there was snow on the ground," he says. "You really couldn’t backpack."

Wuchman is one of the people in charge of protecting Yosemite from dangerous fires.  He says that’s now hard to do, thanks to years of drought.

"We’re warmer. We’re drier," Wuchman says. "Our fire season is lasting longer."

Back in Yosemite Valley, Park Ranger Scott Gediman says the park is dealing with the drought just like everyone else.   Conservation efforts are now in effect in Yosemite.  

But Gediman also says some of the economic damage the drought is doing to the Central Valley is not doing the same in the national park. Visitations are on the rise, and surrounding communities like Oakhurst and Mariposa– places that depend on tourists– are reporting strong bookings into the fall.

"As of now it hasn’t detracted anybody," Gediman says. "And my gut feeling tells me that people are still going to come to Yosemite National Park."

That said, everyone in Yosemite wants to see the drought come to an end.   Costello says the warm, dry winters are messing up his schedule.

"Usually the Lodge bike stand will close after Thanksgiving and we’ll get snow, and we’ll all go up to Badger Pass and work at the ski area," he says. "But the last two winters, I’ve had the Lodge bike stand open almost most of the winter."

And with a low river level soon making rafting impossible, Costello might have to find a new way to stay busy.

"A lot of folks will fish," Costello says. "I don’t have the patience for it."

It’s a good thing that in this place, possibilities are endless.