President Obama signed an omnibus lands bill into law late last month that included the Craig Thomas Snake Headwaters Legacy Act of 2008. The Forest Service has three and a half years to come up with management plans for the 13 rivers and creeks now covered by the “Wild and Scenic Rivers” designation.

The forest began managing eligible rivers in the region as “wild and scenic” after a 1992 amendment to the forest plan, according to David Cernicek, river manager for the Jackson Ranger District of the Bridger-Teton. “There won’t be many changes as far as the public is served,” Cernicek said.

River segments are recognized and managed for wild, scenic or recreational qualities or a combination.

Since 1992, the forest plan amendment has affected a number of projects, especially road projects, on eligible rivers. For instance, the Forest Service required the Wyoming Department of Transportation to follow Wild and Scenic guidelines during the construction of drainage and retention structures on roads in both the Gros Ventre River drainage and the Snake River Canyon.

WYDOT officials were required to use materials that blended into the natural landscape while constructing a retaining wall across from the Snake River Sporting Club, according to Susan Marsh, recreation staff officer for the Bridger-Teton. While the Forest Service hasn’t always been 100 percent successful in following the Wild and Scenic guidelines, officials have “tried to do what mitigation is possible,” said Marsh.

In the future, recreational status on the Snake River near Hoback Junction will influence how WYDOT officials design a new bridge to span the river.

“We’re trying to pick [the design] that has the least effect and is not going to restrict the free-flowing nature of the river,” said Marsh. The river’s status would likely preclude a design that has a pier in the river.

Just down the road, a proposed road project along the Hoback River – also designated as recreational – would have similar restrictions.

Even a routine prescribed burn near the Gros Ventre River, which now has scenic status from the Darwin Ranch to Grand Teton National Park, would be done to blend into the natural landscape.

“We are not trying to create a barrier to something like that, but for a prescribed burn, we are trying to make it look like a natural fire,” said Marsh.

As for wild rivers, such as the majority of Pacific Creek, most of those exist in designated wilderness areas or other land with similar protections. While the surrounding land is protected, the Wild and Scenic designation would preclude the construction of a dam, which is still allowed under the Wilderness Act.

Linda Merigliano, recreation program manager for the Jackson and Buffalo ranger districts, said the first step in developing management plans for the rivers is mapping the buffer around the river corridors and working with landowners to determine how they want their stretch of river managed. After that, the Bridger-Teton will follow the National Environmental Policy Act to get input from the public.

Merigliano said public input is key. “The only reason we have this legislation is because of the citizens,” she said. “The people that worked so hard to get this legislation passed are going to be instrumental in crafting how these rivers are managed.”

The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act protects the free flowing nature of the rivers, creeks and streams named in the law­ – meaning dams and other major manipulations of the river are forbidden – and also protects a quarter-mile buffer along the river bank, with a maximum of 320 acres per mile. The law maintains existing water and irrigation rights as well as private property rights and does not preclude some types of development within the buffer, depending on the type of designation.

Waterways designated as wild receive the most stringent level of protection. The designation is reserved for pristine waterways and precludes activities such as timber harvesting, mining and energy leasing within the river corridor.

Scenic designation also seeks to maintain the free-flowing and scenic characteristics of rivers and allows some development such as minor timber harvesting and minor river diversions for irrigation.

Recreational designation is suitable for places like the Snake River Canyon where a moderate level of development and significant recreational use already exists. On recreational stretches of river, timber harvesting, mining and energy leasing can occur in the river corridor as long as the impacts aren’t noticeable to river users.