Farms & Fish
Cultivation and Conservation
Friends of the Teton River is proud of our recent work and partnership with local agricultural leaders who believe that well-managed family farms and conservation can, and should, go hand-in-hand.
The Farms & Fish Initiative builds upon the relationships cultivated with our farming community and fifteen years of watershed science and research. FTR, together with the Teton Soil Conservation District, Teton County Farm Bureau, Teton Regional Land Trust, Henry’s Fork Foundation, and local elected officials, agricultural producers, and water managers, has formed the Teton Water Users Association. These partners are developing locally-based solutions for maintaining the viability and health of our working lands, open spaces, and stream corridors, while improving surface and ground water resources for the benefit of people, fish, and wildlife.
With the direction and partnership of the Teton Water Users Association, we have been able to secure more than $750,000 in grant funding (since 2016) that provides financial incentives and support for local agricultural producers to participate in conservation farming and water management practices which will protect and improve water quality and supply in the Teton River watershed, while reducing soil erosion and improving agricultural business practices and returns.
The Teton Valley Soil Health Initiative is focused on the implementation of no-till methods, planting cover crops, using strategic crop rotations and implementing adaptive grazing practices.
The Teton Valley Aquifer Recharge Program works with willing agricultural and livestock producers to manage water on farms and ranches early in the irrigation season, so sustain water supplies for humans, fish, and wildlife into the late summer months.
By providing participants with the financial support to plan, implement, and monitor innovative methods, we reduce the financial risk associated with trying a new farming or ranching practice while also providing support for education through workshops and peer-to-peer learning.
Cultivating win-win community projects relies on the support and stewardship of people like you! Your donation to the Farms & Fish Initiative will help protect the land and water that sustains fish and wildlife, and the lives and livelihoods of our community.
“The bottom line is, if 100 years from now there are viable family farms on this valley floor and [fish] in our rivers like there are now, and ducks and waterfowl…if 100 years from now, all that still exists…everybody wins.”
Washington farmer Dave Hedlin, from the film Unbroken Ground