Jackson Lake Dam

When lawmakers wrote the water rights for the Snake River over a century ago, they made sure downstream Idaho farmers would always have enough water to grow crops in arid parts of the state.

That's why even in this drought year, the Snake was running high while the Jackson Lake Dam neared all-time lows.

By the end of the season, aquatic species that live in the side channels were left out to dry, stranding thousands of fish in pools that no longer reached the main stem of the river.

KHOL's Jenna McMurtry joined biologists tracking the dam releases while they're also saving the next generation of river dwellers.

[water sloshing] On an early fall morning in October, about a dozen fish enthusiasts hop into rafts at the main Grand Teton National Park put-in for the Snake River.

After a 20-minute float in the park, a group of trout advocates and fish biologists will have arrived at their first data collection stop of the day.

So now that the ramp down from Jackson Lake Dam is over, there's a lot of isolated pools that have fish strandings on them.

Alicia Brisson is the conservation associate for the local chapter of Trout Unlimited.

When lawmakers wrote the water rights for the Snake River over a century ago, they made sure downstream Idaho farmers would always have enough water to grow crops in arid parts of the state.

That's why even in this drought year, the Snake was running high while the Jackson Lake Dam neared all-time lows.

By the end of the season, aquatic species that live in the side channels were left out to dry, stranding thousands of fish in pools that no longer reached the main stem of the river.

KHOL's Jenna McMurtry joined biologists tracking the dam releases while they're also saving the next generation of river dwellers.

[water sloshing] On an early fall morning in October, about a dozen fish enthusiasts hop into rafts at the main Grand Teton National Park put-in for the Snake River.

After a 20-minute float in the park, a group of trout advocates and fish biologists will have arrived at their first data collection stop of the day.

So now that the ramp down from Jackson Lake Dam is over, there's a lot of isolated pools that have fish strandings on them.

Alicia Brisson is the conservation associate for the local chapter of Trout Unlimited.

As of last week, the Signal Mountain boat ramp is the last one standing for larger boats to get into the water in Grand Teton National Park.

The park shared the information in a post on Instagram, citing, quote, "Historically low water levels." Jackson Lake Dam sits at eight percent capacity as dam releases slow down for the season.

Hand-carry launches are still permitted at all boat launches but require more walking than previous seasons.

Boats still need to pass inspections for invasive species.

But the moment Miranda mentioned Jackson Hole as her destination instead of Jackson, Brian panicked.

He insisted they drop him near Jackson Lake Dam, and the whole encounter ended abruptly.

Miranda felt something was definitely wrong, but since she had places to be herself, she didn't think much of it until the news blew up.

Meanwhile, another witness testimony showed that Jackson Lake Dam wasn't the end of Brian's hitchhiking.

Just after Miranda left, a Wyoming resident named Norma Jean Jalovec pulled over next to him, and he asked for a ride to Jackson once again.

However, since Norma was going north, opposite Jackson, Brian insisted on just dropping him off at the Spread Creek campsite.

You know, it's a, a, a few homes.

And Moran existed because of Jackson Lake Dam.

They were building Jackson Lake Dam at that time.

The dam itself had been done.

What the rest of the work that was being done in the 1920s was this long bit of riprap that extends from the dam to the north and hooks around to Hermitage Point, and that keeps the Willow Flats area from flooding, um, when the lake levels rise.

He's in the back of the boat, and you could, you know, feel the boat lean.

His wife's up front, not near enough weight.

But I'm on a stretch of water running from Jackson Lake Dam to Pacific Creek.