Henry’s Fork Agricultural Corridors Conservation Project

The Henry’s Fork of the Snake River is, in some senses, the aquatic backbone of rural eastern Idaho. It is internationally distinguished for its superior fishing, scenic views of the Tetons, and recreational resources for the general public. At the same time, eastern Idaho’s economy depends on the river, as the Henry’s Fork and its tributaries supply power and water to irrigate many productive crops in the area. The river and surrounding lands also provide unprecedented habitat for fish and wildlife throughout the region.

As more and more people discover the beauty of the Henry’s Fork region, mismanaged development threatens the very resources that attract newcomers. In 1998, landowners spent more than $150 million on development in the upper Henry’s Fork area. On the lower Henry’s Fork, the struggling agricultural economy threatens landowners with large tracts of valuable agricultural lands, compelling them to sell to developers of subdivisions and summer homes.

The Teton Regional Land Trust launched a large land protection effort in 1999 to protect valuable agricultural and natural lands along the Henry’s Fork. The effort is a partnership with many agencies and organizations, so that we may all work cooperatively and effectively to achieve our land protection goals. Partners in the Ag Corridors Project include several local landowners, the Henry’s Fork Watershed Council, the Yellowstone Soil Conservation District, Fremont County Commissioners, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the Henry’s Fork Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, INEEL, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Bureau of Land Management.

To date, the Land Trust has worked with willing landowners and partners to protect over 6,338 acres of critical farmland and wildlife habitat. Through the Ag Corridors Project, we continue to work with these landowners and other partners to identify priorities and conserve our scenic landscapes.

Consider a few of our successes:

• Ashton Reservoir – The Seeley Brothers and the Atchley Family together have protected 737 acres on the reservoir with important big game habitat and grazing lands.
• Fall River – Five families protected 490 acres on the Fall River, with farmland and wildlife habitats.
• St. Anthony Greenway – The Carter and Bell families worked with the Land Trust and the BLM to protect 128 acres along the Henry’s fork for the Greenway trail project.
• Henry’s Lake – Protecting a rare white spruce bog, the Guenzel family placed an easement on their 80-acre lake front property.
• Middle Henry's Fork – With the first Farmland Protection Program funds used in Idaho, and assistance from the The Conservation Fund/Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Nedrow Family conserved 317 acres of prime farmland soils along the Herny's Fork. Just downstream, a broad partnership with The Nature Conservancy, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Henry's Fork Foundation and Fremont County, helped to protect the 1,501-acre Chester Wetlands. Most recently TRLT worked with the John and Sheila Nedrow to complete an additional 215-acre wetlands protection project with funds from the North American Wetlands ConservationCouncil grant. This project linked to a 2,037-acre parcel recently protected by the Wilcox Brothers, connecting six projects, conserving approximately 4,000 acres of agriculturl land, along seven miles of the Henry's Fork.

Prioritization
As part of the Ag Corridors Project, the Land Trust initiated a conservation prioritization project in the Henry’s Fork watershed. The Land Trust is working with other agencies and organizations to create a prioritization system that would clearly identify areas of high resource value and development pressure.

The prioritization project is an ongoing process that will assist the Land Trust and cooperating agencies and organizations to identify areas most in need of protection. New to the Land Trust office is a computer with Geographic Information System (GIS) capabilities. These capabilities allow the Land Trust to collect, analyze, and map any geographically referenced information ranging from demographic trends to ecological data. With the help of TRLT board member Ron Rope, the Land Trust has increased its capabilities to use GIS technologies to improve the prioritization project and outreach efforts. The Henry’s Fork Prioritization effort will be expanded to the Land Trust’s entire service area in the future.