JACKSON, Wyo. – Teton County/Jackson Parks and Recreation (Parks & Rec) announced on Monday, July 21, that river users can now access a free digital map that shows real-time conditions in the Snake River Corridor.
Parks & Rec wrote via press release that the new mapping tool will also provide access and amenity locations, identify public lands and, for the first time, delineate recreational easements and allowable uses in the Snake River Corridor between Moose and South Park.
The Snake River Map Server is now accessible to the public on the County’s website.
Parks & Rec and the Snake River Fund have compiled legal documents related to a series of court settlements from the 1980s that established public lands and recreational easements along the Snake River, from Grand Teton National Park in Moose to Bridger-Teton National Forest in Hoback. Public recreational easement locations are visible on the map as a GIS layer.
“It hasn’t always been easy to determine where recreational easements exist along the Snake River,” Snake River Fund Executive Director Orion Hatch said in the announcement. “This tool helps landowners and the recreating public understand allowable uses in the river corridor. We think that river users will be psyched on the other tools the OnWater map has brought to the table, as well.”
According to Teton County, Wyoming law allows boaters to float for recreational purposes on public waters flowing over private land. Recreational easements are legal encumbrances on private property titles that allow certain uses by the public. Recreation uses are limited to boating, rafting, fishing, hiking, picnicking and other similar activities. Mining, use of firearms, hunting, construction of facilities or structures, overnight camping and fires are prohibited.
“There are several dozen recreational easements that have been established on private
property within the County-managed portion of the Snake River Corridor,” Hatch said.
In 2015, Teton County adopted the Snake River Management Plan, which includes a directive to develop accurate maps that identify private and public land, and to provide information that helps boaters and landowners coexist. The Snake River Management Plan also outlines Parks & Rec’s role in regulating commercial use on the Moose to Hoback segments of the Snake River in Teton County.
The mapping tool is intended to be used on a smartphone, utilizing GPS on the phone to provide accurate, real-time location information along the river. To download the app with fishing or paddling information, click here.
