JACKSON, Wyo. — In 2024, the Snake River Fund celebrated a record year for on-water programming with 524 participants served, thanks to numerous Teton County partnerships.
Snake River Fund is most often recognized for its work in stewardship, access and public outreach. Lesser known is the organizations efforts in on-water educational programming.
For almost two decades, the Fund has prioritized its efforts at get underrepresented members of the community on the Snake River to learn about the watershed’s natural history, ecology, hydrology, threats it faces and the importance of river safety, etiquette and navigation skills.
On-water program participants practice safety skills during the Snake River Days summer camp this past August. Photo: Snake River Fund
Coombs Outdoors, with a mission of empowering local youth to grow and thrive by reducing barriers to outdoor education, is one of Snake River Fund’s strongest partners. 145 Coombs participants took part in on-water programs with the Fund. This includes 20 who enrolled in Snake River Days, a five-day summer camp that includes overnight floats on the Snake in Bridger-Teton National Forest.
Camina Conmigo inspires the adult Hispanic/Latino community to overcome financial, educational and language barriers in outdoor recreation. Snake River Fund partnered with Camina Conmigo to get 66 of its program participants out on rivers, many for the first time, to learn about the watershed and develop the skills and confidence needed to be a part of the river running community.
Camp Jackson, a series of week-long summer camps, gives local youth the chance to get out and explore trails, nature, rivers and lakes. As an extension of Teton County Parks and Recreation, Snake River Fund teamed up with Camp Jackson to take 66 participants on the water for a fun day of learning about the Snake River watershed.
In a first-of-its-kind collaboration in Teton County, Snake River Fund joined forces with Jackson Hole High School teacher Johnson Whippie in 2024 to take 50 students down the Snake River as part of a placed based Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem curriculum. These floats consisted of a thorough examination of the river’s gravel bed floodplain.
The Snake River Fund is ideally suited for this work, with a staff not only skilled at navigating local waters safely, but also knowledgeable of the ecology and natural history of the watershed. Along with its partners throughout the community, the Fund is helping to foster future river stewards.
