Sheyenne RiverJohnny Cash sang that song a long time ago, and it still applies. I don't know how high but it's risin'. Here in the Bis-Man area the Missouri River rises daily because they're opening the gates at the Garrison Dam due to the build-up of water volume on Lake Sacajawea. People with low-lying property along the river bank are getting nervous, and I heard someone on the local news last night say it's probably all right for now, but what if down river they close some gates to control flooding downstream. Then we can look for back-up just as it happened a couple years ago when the ice jams made the water rise locally. I'm still glad our house sits on high ground.
As for the Sheyenne River's future, it just might have to contend with high water on a permanent basis if the folks up in Devil's Lake get their way and start draining that water into the Sheyenne. This year almost everyone has too much water. My old stomping grounds east of Sheldon is the worst it's ever been according to my cousin who farms land there, and when I drove along Highway 46 I saw plenty of other farmland that will probably be un-farmable this year. And the landowners still have to pay taxes on it.
