Foundation dedicated to preservation of Henry’s Fork

Anglers with remarkable foresight recognized the virtues of the Henry’s Fork and established a foundation in 1984 to help preserve the fishery.

“The region was flush with water around then and the fishing was about as good as it gets,” said Brandon Hoffner, executive director of the Henry’s Fork Foundation based in Ashton, Idaho.

The foundation, which has been copied for other great rivers such as Montana’s Madison and Big Hole, is the only organization with the sole purpose of conserving, protecting and restoring the fisheries, wildlife and aesthetic qualities of the Henry’s Fork and its watershed.

Early on, the foundation stood up to ill-advised additional hydroelectric dam projects. It addressed cattle that were degrading shores and fouling the water not with a campaign to curb grazing, but with eight miles of solar fencing.

The 7-mile Railroad Ranch portion of the river in Harriman State Park attracts anglers from around the world, Hoffner said.

“Maybe 80 percent of the Henry’s Fork is water that’s similar to sections of other great trout streams, but The Ranch is different. Huge hatches, large wild rainbow trout and a spring creek feeling on open flatwater – the challenge of catching those big trout on a dry fly sets the river apart.

“That’s what attracts most fly fishermen to the Henry’s,” Hoffner said. “Then they fall in love with the rest of the river.”

The key to preserving the fishery was getting involved in a watershed group to find solutions that would benefit everybody, including ranchers and irrigators, Hoffner said. “It takes time and work to build trust,” he said.

The foundation was in position to help negotiate with the irrigation districts for drought management options that Congress approved in the 2003 Fremont-Madison Conveyance Act.

“We have a place at the table to talk about the water situation and management of Island Park Reservoir,” he said. “That’s hugely important.”

The foundation raises money to fund ongoing research and water quality monitoring so that any proposals made to other collaborators are scientifically based with baseline data or research, he said.

Climate change – and more septic systems in the watershed – are among the major concerns for the future of the fishery, Hoffner said.

“It boils down to water quality,” he said, noting that summer blue-green algae blooms are becoming more common. “An analysis of local NRCS snotel data revealed that February average temperatures are six degrees warmer now than the 1970s. We are experiencing early snowmelt leading to changes in the watershed.

“The average water temperature of the Henry’s Fork has increased by six degrees since the 1970s.

“I’m not arguing the ‘Why?’ We must focus on what to do to maintain a trout fishery in a river system that’s involved with irrigating about 2 million acres of agricultural land.”

“We’ve just had the driest four-year stretch since the late 30s to early 40s for watershed yield. Fish are tied to the water. Surveys show that watershed yield is down to 75 percent of average, and fish numbers are about 75 percent of average, too.”

As good as the fishing can be in the Henry’s Fork, Hoffner says anglers need to be reminded that it’s not as good as it could be and it could get a lot worse.

“We suffer from complacency,” he said.

“It took time for us to figure out we needed to be about hydrology and water management, not just about fish.”