Snowpack shortfalls force range-to-truck water shift
MONTROSE, Colo. — As water shot into an open stock tank atop a high country mesa near Montrose, Colorado, a trickle soaked the dusty earth below. Scott Snyder rose from the shade to fasten a hose and stop the spillage.
“It’s just so much work. I hate dropping any of it,” said Snyder, who operates Mex and Sons Ranch with his family.
The moment captures a reality playing out across the Western U.S.: ranchers who once relied on snowmelt to fill springs, stock ponds and creeks for their cattle to drink through the summer are now hauling water in trucks to keep their herds alive. The practice adds labor, fuel costs and logistical strain to operations already squeezed by years of drought.
MSI previously reported that Colorado recorded its worst snowpack since statewide recordkeeping began in 1941, with hydrologists warning that the early, low mountain snow left less water for the drought-stricken West. The shortfall threatens to reduce runoff and intensify existing drought pressures, water rationing fights and wildfire hazards.
The practice extends across the Rockies. Ranchers in Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico are also trucking water to cattle after dry conditions have left seasonal water sources unavailable.
MSI previously reported that the U.S. cattle herd has fallen to its smallest size in more than 75 years, with persistent drought across cattle country and the steep costs of expanding operations each working against a quick rebound.