• Public meetings set for December
Lincoln County Commissioner Mel Shumway addressed the ongoing evaluation of river segments under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, noting that neighboring governing bodies and local conservation districts have taken active roles in reviewing potential impacts.
“The Wild and Scenic River is part of the Bridger-Teton Forest revision, forest plan revision, and that’s going through all cooperating agencies,” Shumway explained, highlighting coordination between Lincoln County, Sublette County, and local conservation districts.
According to Shumway, misconceptions about the designation process are common. “I didn’t know a lot about it till we started delving into this, and there’s a lot of myths and there’s a lot of information available on the Bridger-Teton site,” he said.
Currently, the Bridger-Teton National Forest contains nearly 3,300 miles of river, with 316 miles already officially designated and roughly 370 additional miles deemed eligible.
To qualify for designation under federal criteria, a section of river must meet specific benchmarks. “To be considered, a section must be free-flowing, or the river or section must be free-flowing and have at least one outstanding remarkable value,” Shumway said.
He noted that the acronym for Outstanding Remarkable Values can lead to initial confusion: “You’ll see that ORV bantered around, and a lot of people instantly, like myself, jump to off-road vehicles. No, it’s outstanding remarkable value, and that consists of scenic, recreational, geology, fish, wildlife, historical, and culture.”
Shumway emphasized the importance of balancing protection with active use. “We love our rivers and our streams, and we want to protect them, but we also want to be able to utilize them to—as we, I think locally, would like to see fit,” he said.
The Forest Service has scheduled public engagement workshops for December to present map breakouts and review eligibility statuses. Sessions will be held December 7 in Thayne, December 9 in Pinedale, and December 10 in Cokeville. Shumway encouraged residents to attend and consult official sources to separate fact from fiction.