Teton River
Drainage
 |
| Irrigation
sprinklers, west of Driggs. |
The Teton River originates
on the west slope of the Teton Mountains and drains 890 square miles to its confluence
with the Henrys Fork near St. Anthony. Prior to the construction and collapse
of the Teton Dam in 1976, the river supported a self-sustaining native cutthroat
trout fishery. Cutthroat were in the highest concentration below the dam (57%)
followed by the canyon (31%) and upper valley (22%). Wild and hatchery rainbow
trout, hybrid rainbow x cutthroat trout, brook trout, and mountain whitefish are
other game fish present.
Catchable rainbow trout
have been stocked in the Teton Valley at about 7,500 per year from 1990 to 1994.
Although exotic wild rainbow
and hybrid trout provide a significant component of the catch throughout the Teton
River drainage (26% in 1988 and 41% in 1994), they pose a threat to the genetic
integrity and long-term viability of wild cutthroat populations.
Written and compiled by Jacqueline
Harvey 1999.