Lake Abert Recovers

As you can see from the above photo, taken in February 2017 (posted here courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management), Lake Abert in southern Oregon has recovered nicely from the drought-stricken levels that we reported on in 2015. Two years of wetter conditions with above-average snowfall have filled the lake–just as a number of locals had predicted it would through the normal cycles. In fact all of the lakes and reservoirs that we reported on in 2015 have experienced similar recoveries.

Lake Abert at the height of Oregon’s 2015 drought.

Lake Abert in Feb 2017. Photo courtesy of Bureau of Land Management

Perhaps there’s a lesson here about hand-wringing and making dire predictions based on these perpetual cycles.

Somewhat predictably, it was the older, longtime residents who seemed the least concerned about Lake Abert’s water levels, having experienced a number of dry years.

Looks like they were right.