After a winter of record-low precipitation and unseasonably high temperatures, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department says it’s closely monitoring how the conditions will impact wildlife and “taking proactive steps to protect the resources.”

In the Big Horn Basin — also known as the Game and Fish’s “Cody Region” — the Game and Fish has logged “crisp and dry” landscape conditions with a spring green-up that is “notably less robust” than recent years. Biologists said in a department news release last week that soil moisture and precipitation levels were lower than the normal baseline.

“If current weather patterns continue, major drainages in the region including the Lower Shoshone River, North Fork of the Shoshone River, streams draining the western slope of the Bighorn Mountains and Bighorn River are likely to see lower flows with increased water temperatures for a longer duration of the summer,” the Game and Fish said.

Those conditions can stress fish populations, and if they persist, “catch-and-release anglers will be asked to be thoughtful about these impacts and will be encouraged to pursue fishing opportunities at higher elevations,” the department said.

Water levels remained low in many reservoirs last week and most of the catchment water basins in the region were dry, the department reported.

The Game and Fish also noted that habitat conditions can change quickly if more moisture arrives in the late spring or early summer. For example, recent precipitation helped improve conditions on the eastern side of the basin.

April and May are historically the Big Horn Basin’s wettest months, and the department said they’ll be the deciding factor for the region’s summer habitat outlook.