Summer is progressing, school is starting and the fawns are growing.
Many fawns at Quartz Mountain are nearly as tall as their mothers.
Most of the park’s deer population, know they have the right of way and often just stand in the road.
Please allow extra time when driving through the park.
Fawn’s spots are fading and they are eating more and more vegetation.
The summer’s rains have been sporadic. Many of the grasses were green and lush but are now drying out.
Good nutrition in late summer and early fall will help all deer enter winter healthy.
Healthier fawns will survive their first winter and healthier does will have healthy fawns next spring.
Springs rais were not plentiful and the Lake Altus-Lugert did not fill.
The lake level peaked at close to 76% full and then started dropping.
Summer rains have not been large enough for Lake Altus-Lugert’s incoming water to keep up with irrigation outflow.
Additionally, there have been quite a few days with the temperatures above 100 degrees and a brisk breeze.
Both factors increase lake level loss due to evaporation.
As of Monday August 17, Lake Altus-Lugert is about 31% full or 69% empty. Smaller boats and jet-skis are still able to launch from the Main and Hicks Mountain Boat Ramps. Rocks that used to have six or seven feet of water above them, now are completely exposed. Please use extra caution when boating, skiing or swimming around the rocks. The beach areas are growing day by day.
Fire Danger is on the increase as the vegetation dries out. Please stay Fire Aware. Keep buckets of water handy to put out any grass fire that may start from a spark or a dropped flaming marshmallow. If a Fire Ban is declared camp fires and grilling with charcoal or wood are not allowed. Grilling may still be done IF: a Coleman stove or propane fueled grill are used (must have an On/Off control) AND provided that the stove is at least five feet from flammable vegetation and done over a non-flammable surface.