EDWARDS – — If you’re a rafter or kayaker, you’ve seen better years on the Eagle River. If you fish, low streamflows are an early-season bonanza.
Representatives of the valley’s floating and fishing businesses spoke at a recent State of the River meeting at Berry Creek Middle School and told substantially different stories.
John Mark Seelig, of Lakota Guides, told the sizable audience in the school’s auditorium that the rafting business has seen “incredible highs to dramatic lows” over the past decade. According to a state industry group, last year was one of the best ever for rafting companies in the state, with more than 508,000 people booking trips of some sort. Those people represented about $150 million in revenue.
Seelig said last year was a remarkable year for runoff and stream flows. When the water drops, so do reservations. In the last bad drought year, 2002, business was off nearly 40 percent from the year before, Seelig said, adding he expects a similar drop this season.
While there won’t be much in the way of whitewater this year, Seelig said streamflows could allow rafting companies to introduce more people to rafting thanks to calmer waters.
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