CFSH: Campaign for the Snake Headwaters

The Campaign for the Snake Headwaters – better known by its acronym “C-Fish” – is a local grassroots effort to permanently protect the most pristine rivers and streams in northwest Wyoming’s Snake River drainage by including them in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. The campaign is comprised of anglers, hunters, guides, outfitters, landowners, business owners, and conservationists who share a common goal of leaving a legacy of healthy rivers and unsurpassed recreational opportunities for future generations to enjoy.

In May 2007, the campaign reached a major milestone when the late Senator Craig Thomas (R-Wyoming) introduced the Snake Headwaters Legacy Act (S.1281) in the United States Senate. Following Senator Thomas’ untimely death one month later, this legislation was taken up by Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyoming) and renamed the Craig Thomas Snake Headwaters Legacy Act to honor its original champion. The Act would add 13 of Wyoming’s most spectacular rivers to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, including portions of the Snake, Lewis, Buffalo Fork, Gros Ventre, and Hoback rivers and several of their tributaries. In all, this bill would protect 387 river miles, the vast majority of which flow across public lands in the Bridger-Teton National Forest and Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. Only 5 percent of the river miles in the bill flow across private lands.

Currently, Wyoming has only one river in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System – a 20-mile section of the Clark’s Fork of the Yellowstone River near Cody. In all, over 160 rivers and 11,000 river miles are protected in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, including 474 river miles in Idaho and 374 river miles in Montana.

Permanently protecting the best remaining free-flowing rivers and streams in the Snake headwaters would ensure that some of the purest waters and one of the last remaining native cutthroat trout strongholds in the Lower 48 states remain intact. A healthy watershed is also essential to maintaining a high quality of life and vibrant economy in the Jackson Hole area.

Recent studies how that 30 percent of the visitors that come to Jackson Hole spend some time fishing in the Snake headwaters, and they contribute from $10 to $20 million annually to the local economy. Whitewater rafting and kayaking generate another $3.5 million. Commercial rafting outfitters alone take about 140,000 visitors per year down the thrilling whitewater rapids of the Snake River Canyon and through the incomparably beautiful Grand Teton National Park. For many visitors, running the Snake River is the highlight of their vacation.

In addition to supporting diverse recreational opportunities for locals and visitors alike, the Snake headwaters provides high quality habitat for hundreds of wildlife species. The lush cottonwood forest along the Snake River is home to one of the most productive osprey and bald eagle nesting habitats in the Rocky Mountains. In all, 150 bird species can be found along the Snake River through Jackson Hole. Among the mammal species that abound here are moose, elk, mule and whitetail deer, grizzly bears, wolves, and Wyoming’s largest population of river otters.

The rivers and streams that comprise the Snake headwaters truly are some of our nation’s most spectacular and beloved waters. This very special watershed, perhaps more than any other in America, deserves the recognition and high level of protection the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act affords.