Managers of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem’s southern landscapes are seeking to permanently protect the wild character of the Snake River and a prominent tributary, the Lewis River.
The goal, in a nutshell, is to protect the Snake and Lewis rivers upstream of Flagg Ranch, which is about 2 miles south of Yellowstone’s south entrance. Because no one else owns water rights above Flagg Ranch, acquiring the rights in question would allow the Department of Interior and U.S. Forest Service to prevent anyone from taking water out of the river upstream when doing so would damage natural flows, which among other things allow fish to migrate and spawn and help aquatic vegetation grow.