Contacts:
Nick Gann, Rocky Mountain Communications Director at Trout Unlimited, nick.gann@tu.org
Justin Laycock, Greys River Ranger District Ranger at USDA, United States Forest Service, justin.laycock@usda.gov
Bridger-Teton National Forest, WY – This fall, Trout Unlimited (TU) and the Bridger-Teton National Forest will begin construction on a project to restore fish passage on Cabin Creek, a tributary to the Greys River.
The project will replace an undersized culvert that currently blocks the upstream movement of native fish, including Snake River fine-spotted cutthroat trout. The new bottomless arch culvert will allow the stream to flow naturally through the structure under all seasonal flow conditions, ensuring year-round fish passage, improving sediment transport, and increasing channel stability. Once completed, the project will reconnect more than three miles of valuable spawning and rearing habitat for native fish.
To complete the work, Forest Route 3256 will be closed at Cabin Creek from October 22 to November 7. Forest users will not be able to access the route during this closure. This construction window is scheduled to accommodate weather. The road will be reopened after construction is completed, which may be earlier than November 7. A notification of completed construction will be made available for users interested in accessing Forest Route 3256 if it occurs earlier than November 7. This route is typically open from July 1 through December 1 each year for vehicles less than 64 inches wide (e.g., ATVs or UTVs).
“Replacing this outdated culvert with a bottomless arch design will reopen habitat for cutthroat trout and reconnect a valuable spawning tributary,” said Justin Laycock, Greys River District Ranger, Bridger-Teton National Forest. “This is a win for native fish and for the larger Greys River watershed as a whole.”
The Cabin Creek Fish Passage Project exemplifies the strong partnership between Trout Unlimited and the Bridger-Teton National Forest to reconnect and restore Wyoming’s coldwater streams. It is also a component of the Snake River Headwaters Initiative—an ambitious, collaborative effort to restore and protect the headwaters of the Snake River and its native fishery in partnership with a diverse group of community members, landowners, and agencies.
Technical and funding project partners include: Trout Unlimited, Bridger-Teton National Forest, Jackson Hole One Fly, Jackson Hole Trout Unlimited, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Wyoming Governor’s Big Game License Coalition, and the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resources Trust.
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Trout Unlimited is the nation’s leading conservation organization working to care for and recover rivers and streams and their trout and salmon populations. We bring people together across the country to be champions for their rivers and help make our water cleaner and our communities healthier. Founded by a small band of Michigan anglers in 1959, we have grown into a national organization with more than 350 staff, 400 chapters, and 300,000 members and supporters. We bring science-driven restoration know-how, state and national policy muscle, and local volunteer energy to bear on behalf of clean water, healthy trout and salmon and thriving communities.