Climate Change and Covid are Affecting our Fisheries
I just got back from a trip up to the Great North Woods. A place I love and have been going to since the mid-1980’s. But I was totally unprepared for what I found.
The river was running extremely low. Lower then I had seen in decades. Asking around, I learned that over the winter the region had received 80 inches less snow than normal. That’s right almost a 7 foot deficient. Crazy. And to boot, they were experiencing a lack of rain as well, placing them in a serious drought. In fact the water table was at a 39 year low. Now I was well aware that out West water problems are going on big time, but I had zero idea its was happening so close to home.
If that weren’t enough, there was a fourfold increase in the number of people in town. Crowds, the likes of which I had never witnessed before. Every car and pickup you saw was filled with canoes and kayaks. ATVs and dirt bikes everywhere. And every pool was packed with anglers. Total mayhem. Once again I started asking around. Like myself, veterans of the area were all in shock. Scratching their heads. Then I heard that across the country all the National Parks were full. The state campground near the river was no exception. It was packed. After our year-long cabin fever, courtesy of the pandemic, people were busting out, desperate to get away, desperate to have fun, desperate to canoe and kayak, desperate to run their ATVs, desperate to dirt bike. And desperate to fish!
The trip was quite an eye opener. I headed south concerned and disappointed. No question, climate change and covid are affecting our fisheries.
