COUGAR — The boat ramp at Cougar Camp on Yale Reservoir is unusable due to dropping water levels and the ramp at Swift Forest Camp on Swift Reservoir will be dry by the Fourth of July weekend.
PacifiCorp, the utility that operates the three dams on the North Fork of the Lewis River, announced the boat ramp closures on Thursday.
Ramps at Yale Park, Beaver Bay, Saddle Dam, Cresap Bay and Speelyai Bay are anticipated to have enough water to launch throughout the summer.
The meager snowpack from last winter, plus a below-average spring rain, has resulted in only 35 percent of the normal flow for this time of year.
The flows are the lowest in more than 85 years of water record-keeping, according to Tom Gauntt, a PacifiCorp spokesman.
The utility held water in Swift, the largest and uppermost of the three reservoirs, during late spring and early summer. Now, to keep the most ramps open for the largest number of boaters, PacifiCorp is releasing water to Yale and Merwin reservoirs.
Yale and Merwin both are very popular with water skiers and jet-ski riders during the summer. Both lakes also provide kokanee fishing, which is particularly popular in Merwin.
On Thursday, the water levels at Swift Reservoir was 16 feet below full pool. At 25 feet below full, the ramp at Swift Forest Camp is out of the water.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife stocked Swift Reservoir with 51,800 catchable-size rainbow trout in late May in anticipation of the June 6 fishing season opener.
Without boat launching, fishing effort and success is anticipated to be minimal, said John Weinheimer, a biologist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
“The majority of fishing success in that reservoir is by boat,” he said. “There’s very limited bank access without a boat.”
Weinheimer said the Swift ramp also is needed by recreationists who want to camp along the shore at the mouth of Drift Creek.
“The interest in Swift has moved to the fall, where it’s turned out to be very popular trout fishery,” he said. “That’s going to be a real loss for some anglers.”
The daily limit in Swift doubles to 10 fish beginning Sept. 1 as part of the fall fishery.
Weinheimer also said the 10-mile-long reservoir is not a place to use a canoe or rubber raft.
“It can get too rough to do long-distance travel,” he said.
The fishing season continues through Nov. 30 at Swift.
PacifiCorp’s federal license also has minimum-flow requirements at Merwin Dam in order to protect fish in the lower North Fork of the Lewis River.
