Wyoming Framework Water Plan - Living Rivers Home Page

Executive Summary
INTRODUCTION
The 2001 Wyoming Legislature authorized the Wyoming Water Development Commission
(WWDC) to complete the Snake/Salt River Basin portion of the State Water Plan. According to
the WWDC, the river basin planning process has the following goals:
• Provide accurate, contemporary water information to enable state and local decision
makers to manage water resources efficiently.
• Maintain an inventory of water data for use by various state agencies.
• Assist the Legislature and the Governor in developing effective state water policies to
protect Wyoming's water and promote responsible development.
• Give Wyoming citizens access to the water information they need to deal with water
issues at the grassroots level.
• Project future water demands so the state can prepare for the effects of growth.
• Bring Wyoming's water planning program up to par with other Western states.
• Provide the state with information to assist in responding to the mandates of federal
legislation and regulation.
• Protect Wyoming's water resources from downstream competitors.
Numerous technical memoranda were created as the background to the final report. All topics
discussed in this report are covered in detail in the technical memoranda. These documents, as
well as other Wyoming river basin plans, can be found electronically on the Wyoming State Water
Plan homepage at http://waterplan.state.wy.us/.
The initial Snake/Salt River Basin Advisory Group meeting was held May 15, 2001 in Jackson.
At that time the Basin Advisory Group (BAG) was formed, consisting of over 30 citizens from
throughout the basin. The members represent a variety of interests, such as agriculture, industry,
environmental, government and recreation. Their knowledge and input was invaluable to the creation
of this basin plan and their efforts are much appreciated.
BASIN DESCRIPTION
The Snake River Basin is part of the Columbia River drainage that flows to the Pacific Ocean.
The Snake/Salt River basin in Wyoming is a portion of the headwaters of the Snake River, and
contains all of the Snake Headwaters, Gros Ventre, Greys, and Hoback sub-basins, as well as portions
of the Salt, Palisades, Teton, Lower Henry's, and Upper Henry's sub-basins. The Wyoming
portion of the Snake/Salt River basin covers approximately 5,100 square miles. A map of the
Snake/Salt River basin planning area can be found in Figure 1. The Snake River is one of the
major rivers of the West, flowing from Wyoming across Idaho before converging with the
Columbia River in Washington. The basin covers all of Teton County and portions of Lincoln,
Sublette, and Fremont Counties. The basin includes all of Grand Teton National Park, as well as
a portion of Yellowstone National Park.
Snake/ Salt River Basin Plan
Page 1