County releases Snake River management plan as part of land exchange with BLM

A draft management plan for the Snake River between Moose and Hoback released last week calls for maintaining commercial use at or below current numbers. The 37-page document comes after worries about increasing commercial use on the river, and to prepare for a land swap between Teton County and the Bureau of Land Management. The BLM owns 23 parcels that are to be transferred to the county; the exchange requires a management plan for the parcels before the exchange can occur. The plan supports regulation for commercial fishing trips, commercial scenic tours, commercial lessons and other such uses. No limits are proposed for private boaters. “The overall goal is to stabilize use near average levels from 2010 to 2014 ... with commensurate development, group sizes, social conditions, commercial use, and management intensity,” the draft plan reads. That means boaters should not expect solitude when they launch but that they might find it along the river. It also means commercial use would remain around current averages, but without the peak numbers observed in the past three years...more

This is a proposed land exchange so that local government can limit certain uses and ban other uses that are currently allowed by the BLM.  A good example of the many possibilities that could occur if some of the federal lands are transferred to the states.