The Upper Teton Watershed in Idaho and Wyoming is one of the important headwaters of the Snake River, which traverses Idaho. The Upper Teton Watershed is a well-defined watershed with (a) outstanding natural resource and recreational assets of recognized regional and national importance (b) extensive private lands which are rapidly being subdivided and developed and (c) a cohesive committed community of state and local government units and private groups, with almost all of the private lands located within a single county. The watershed is on the west side of the Teton Range, adjacent to the Grand Teton National Park. The Teton, Big Hole and Snake River Mountain ranges and their National Forests and BLM lands bound the Teton River on three sides. The watershed lies near the heart of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and represents several biological ecosystems including wetland, alpine and high desert. In 2001, two separate studies of 43 watersheds in the regions, ranked the Upper Teton Watershed as the highest priority for restoration based on indices of vulnerability and irreplaceability. The Teton River, its associated wetlands and tributaries provide vital riparian habitat for numerous fish and bird species, including bald eagle, whooping crane trumpeter swan and the Yellowstone cutthroat trout.
The Upper Teton Watershed in Idaho and Wyoming is one of the important headwaters of the Snake River, which traverses Idaho. The Upper Teton Watershed is a well-defined watershed with (a) outstanding natural resource and recreational assets of recognized regional and national importance (b) extensive private lands which are rapidly being subdivided and developed and (c) a cohesive committed community of state and local government units and private groups, with almost all of the private lands located within a single county. The watershed is on the west side of the Teton Range, adjacent to the Grand Teton National Park. The Teton, Big Hole and Snake River Mountain ranges and their National Forests and BLM lands bound the Teton River on three sides. The watershed lies near the heart of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and represents several biological ecosystems including wetland, alpine and high desert. In 2001, two separate studies of 43 watersheds in the regions, ranked the Upper Teton Watershed as the highest priority for restoration based on indices of vulnerability and irreplaceability. The Teton River, its associated wetlands and tributaries provide vital riparian habitat for numerous fish and bird species, including bald eagle, whooping crane trumpeter swan and the Yellowstone cutthroat trout. 