Low Flows, High Stakes: A River Otter’s Guide to the 2026 Rogue River Drought

Parting the current, he races upstream– zig zagging around rocks and logs, dodging even the most challenging of obstacles. To impress his friends, he executes a barrel roll as he approaches their stolen den. A slick, brown body appears from around the riverbend, and a tussle ensues. The current is no longer distinguishable as they splash and turn, adding a bit of natural chaos to the river. Another one pops out from behind a log, and the group becomes engaged in a game of tag, chasing each other at high speeds through the rippling water. This group of bachelor otters plans to spend the summer exploring the river bottom and finding cool pockets of water to play and hunt in. In the spring, they had plenty of places to hide, swim, and explore during their games. But as summer approaches, secondary channels are drying up, water levels are decreasing, and diving pools are harder to come by. 

photo credit ROW Adventures

Otters are just one species that will be challenged this year as they navigate warmer and shallower waters in places they used to splash and play. This year, the Rogue Valley is facing one of our worst snowpack and water years in history. In May, the US Army Corps of Engineers hosted a public meeting reporting on record low reservoir levels at Lost Creek and Applegate Lakes. Although their efforts to maintain fish and aquatic life are a top priority, there is only so much they can do to provide high quality, cold aquatic habitat in the heat of the summer. 

It’s more than a feeling; this data set from the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) shows that we are well below the median snow water equivalent, based on almost 30 years of data. Fortunately, we have been receiving some precipitation, just not in the form of snowpack. Below you can see the comparison of the same 30-year dataset with precipitation to date. Although we’re still below average, we did have some stretches this winter of precipitation to help supply our drinking water sources, replenish a bit of groundwater, and keep streams flowing for spring Chinook and other aquatic species.

It’s hard to visualize trends in water, and this resource is a great tool to help us lock onto that feeling of “we needed a good rain.” In truth, we needed a good snow (that we didn’t get).

What does this data translate to?

Well, one of the reasons snowpack is so important is because of the time it takes to release meltwater. On an average year, the snowpack we get in the winter holds on the mountaintops until mid-summer, slowly melting into our basin. This helps cool tributaries that connect to our rivers (like the Rogue). This benefits aquatic species and also gradually refills groundwater which is important for aquifer recharge. If you looked at these same graphs this winter, snowpack was holding much stronger throughout the state, but we saw a mostly warm and dry spring that quickly depleted that reserve. The snow that we had quickly melted and was flushed out to the ocean or (hopefully) absorbed into our groundwater reserve. Communities in the Rogue Valley pull drinking water from springs higher in the watershed and/or the Rogue River directly. (Ashland is the exception here with Reeder Reservoir as its primary water source.) If you look out on Mt McLaughlin now, there is hardly a trace of snow, a stark reminder of our current conditions.

It’s hard, as a natural resource professional, to look at this information and not feel a bit of doom. It’s equally difficult, as a community member, to look at this information and not be a little scared or wary of what’s going on around us. The scale of the issue is nearly impossible to tackle on an individual level, so is it better to ignore the problem entirely?

We’d argue… no. At a minimum, everyone should be operating in an abundance of caution in terms of water use. If everyone acts in this way, we can navigate through the dry summer. Talk to your neighbors, your friends– and do the little things. If you have to water your grass, do it in the early morning. Be responsible while out recreating. It makes more of a difference to not start a fire than anything else you could do this summer. Humans are responsible for an estimated 85% of wildfires in the US; that’s a huge number we need to fight. Dry grasses and landscapes will burn without human causes, but they will certainly burn with them as well. Keep your tow chains off the ground, don’t use machinery in the heat of day, observe burn bans, and take every precaution you can! If you see a fire, report it immediately. If your neighbor is watering their lawn at 2pm, leave a friendly note or have a conversation with them explaining how they’re losing most of that water to evaporation. With kindness and understanding, we can, and we will, be a stronger community. 

If you see any otter-ly adorable wildlife, remember they are going to be stressed as well. Rafters, swimmers, and boaters should be incredibly cautious and allow plenty of space for them to live. They can’t escape into the AC like most of us– they need cold water spots and safe areas to raise their offspring. As the weather gets hotter, they start hunting at night to avoid the sun. That means they are trying to stay cool and sleep during the day in whatever shade they can find on the river. Do not approach animals or push them from these spots, they have just as much of a right to local watering holes as we do.