Welcome!
Having spent many years searching for the "perfect" western ranch, David Pratt set his eyes on Three Forks Ranch in 1998. Looking for a cattle ranch with mountains, river and solitude, he found his dream in this Sierra Madre paradise. "ALMOST".
Mr. Pratt found all the pieces to the puzzle, except the river was in trouble. Over a century of misguided agriculture had turned the headwaters of the Little Snake River into a wide, shallow, muddy torrent.
Enlisting the help of Dave Rosgen, Wildland Hydrology, Mr. Pratt set out to restore this river to what it may have looked like in the 1850s. Equal to the task, Rosgen initiated and directed the largest privately funded river restoration project in the history of the United States.
Upon final purchase of the ranch in 1999, conservation agreements were negotiated with Wyoming, Colorado, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to protect the native Colorado River Cutthroat trout. Army Corp of Engineer permits were secured. Water rights were adjusted, and 22,000 boulders were gathered in preparation of this historic undertaking. May of 2000 saw the arrival of 25 pieces of heavy equipment. The job was to narrow and deepen the entire 16 miles of the Little Snake River and its tributaries that lie within the boundaries of the Three Forks Ranch.
Stretches of the river were realigned to optimum sinuosity, preventing future erosion. The entire river was deepened and narrowed to a third of its original width. 2000 structures were placed in the river diverting the velocity of the water away from the banks to the center of the stream Bank erosion was halted and sediment transport enhanced by this design. Thousands of willows were transplanted on riverbends to further stabilize the banks and provide shade to cool the water. Miles of unused historic parallel channels were reopened and water diverted to them, further enhancing the fishery. Dotted with small oxbow lakes, this spring-creek-like environment provides habitat for huge rainbow trout.
The result, "Fly Fishing Nirvana". The headwaters of the Little Snake River is protected from the raging spring floods. Cool, oxygen-enriched water falls over each of the stabilizing rock structures. Deep pools provide excellent habitat for rainbow, brown, brook, and Colorado Cutthroat trout. Insect hatches returned that blacken the sky, and provide food for the hungry trout. David Pratt did the heavy lifting. Mother Nature put on the finishing touches.
The Little Snake River is back.
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