A stronghold for Yellowstone cutthroat trout
The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) covers 22 million acres across three states and two national parks in the Northern Rockies, constituting what the National Park Service has deemed one of the largest nearly intact temperate ecosystems on Earth. Due to the region’s high biodiversity, a large group of public and private partners known as the Greater Yellowstone Coalition (GYC) has been assessing and conserving habitat in the GYE for years. It ranked the Teton River basin as the top priority area for land conservation within the GYE for its irreplaceable and vulnerable ecological values.
Renowned for its fly fishing, the Teton River flows from headwaters high in the Teton Range and joins the Henry’s Fork seven miles above the latter’s confluence with the Snake River. The Teton Basin is a major movement corridor for large mammals and supports one of three remaining strongholds for imperiled Yellowstone cutthroat trout (YCT).
In 2023, Western Rivers Conservancy began working to acquire Badger Creek Canyon Ranch, a critical 613-acre property located on Badger Creek, just upstream of its confluence with the Teton River. We successfully purchased the property in June 2024. One of the Teton’s better known tributaries, Badger Creek begins in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, near Grand Teton National Park, and flows into the Teton at the head of the remote 25-mile-long Teton Canyon. Upper Badger Creek, which is largely isolated from its lower reaches, is one of only four Teton River tributaries that contain native Yellowstone cutthroat trout without the presence of non-native competitors. Lower Badger Creek, where the ranch is located, is currently dominated by non-native rainbow trout and has some of the best spawning and rearing habitat for YCT. Given its potential, the creek is currently a major target for YCT restoration by the Bureau of Land Management and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.
Mule deer, elk and anglers at Badger Creek Canyon Ranch
WRC’s goal is to transfer the ranch to the BLM for permanent conservation. The property spans 2.5 miles of Badger Creek and protecting it will play a key role the BLM and IDFG’s efforts to recover native YCT in the Teton system. The ranch is also located in a Big Game Conservation Area designated by the Department of the Interior to enhance the quality of big game winter range and migration corridor habitat. Our efforts will improve migration access to and from essential overwintering habitat for two to three thousand mule deer, hundreds of Rocky Mountain elk and moose. These animals over-winter in the Teton River Canyon and spend summers in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, passing through and using the ranch on their way. Once under BLM management, the agency will either remove fencing or make it wildlife friendly. In addition, the BLM will restore native grasslands to increase winter range for these populations. Adding the property to the BLM’s holdings will also complete a major step in longstanding efforts by both the BLM and the state of Idaho to enhance recreational access to the spectacular Teton Canyon.
