Interview Transcript

Rose Skinner

Q: Tell us about Fremont Lake and its relationship to Pinedale.

A: We are standing at the outflow of Fremont Lake. The stream of Pine Creek fills the lake and flows into the New Fork River and flows through the town of Pinedale and this is the out-take, I guess you might call it. The town of Pinedale and the Highland Ditch Association co-operated on the building of this dam. The old dam was up about a mile on the outlet. This dam is providing water to the irrigators and to the town of Pinedale's economic and cultural assets of the stream going through town.

Q: Tell us about water and the history of Pinedale.

A: As you know the mountain men came into this area in the 1820's and 1830's in search of trade. With all the water, streams, lakes, and wildlife here, it made a very profitable fur trade industry, and then the tie-hacks came up in about 1869 when the railroad was built across southern Wyoming and cut timber on the Upper Green forest. They floated the ties down Green River to Green River city, and they noticed all the water and the good grass in this area. So some of them settled and started ranching, and that is sort of the history of the ranching in Sublette County. It was good grass and good water.

Q: Tell us briefly about Pinedale, its culture and economy, and how it's evolving.

A: For most of the 20th century, ranching, logging, and government agencies seemed to be the basis of our economy. It has been changing over the last decades. Tourism is really coming in on its own. We have lots of tourists, and so does Wyoming -- tourism is a big economic asset for the whole state of course. Second homes, people love this climate in the summer time, and they love the fishing and hunting and hiking and all the other things that we can afford them. There are a few disadvantages, like the cold weather and the isolation. Those of us who live here love that but we have a lot of second homes.

Q: What is the significance of Pine Creek to your community?

A: Pine Creek is almost the essence of why this settlement is here. It is a beautiful location. It afforded water for our municipal needs. At first, water was taken right out of Pine Creek for our municipal needs until we had the pipeline put in from the lake. We have economic value because the tourists love to stop and fish, the locals love to fish. It's a cultural value because it flows by the residences and certainly adds value to their properties. It enhances our parks. We have two lovely parks in town, and it is very rare that you get a beautiful stream like we have right down through the middle of your parks.

Q: So what happens to the creek in late summer or dry summers, and why is that a problem?

A: Because of the dam, we have interfered with the natural flow of Pine Creek, and we have diverted water for municipal and agricultural reasons. Consequently, when there is a dry year we see the stream suffer because of the lack of a natural flow. Most years we have a pretty good stream flow year-round, but on dry years like we've had in the last three years, the stream has really been lacking in water.

Q: What did you and the city of Pinedale do to try to address this problem?

A: The citizens of Pinedale, and as the mayor I get this, call and say, The creek is down, why can't we have water in the creek, what are you doing with our water? Because of the insistence of the citizens of Pinedale, we have tried to find a vehicle whereby we can keep water in the stream. According to Wyoming water law you can put your storage water where you need to put it, but you've got to have a destination and Pinedale doesn't have a destination like a headgate downstream. Consequently, the State Engineers can't shepherd that water downstream. We are trying now to do an instream flow, it's not the word I'd like to use. It has some connotations that are a little bit leery to the irrigators, but we have a major water storage permit that has 9,844 acre-feet in it. Since 1998, we have dedicated 4,800 feet of that water to the stream for fisheries and recreation and 5,000 acre-feet of that water to the irrigators. What we are trying to do now is be sure that we can get the 4,800 acre-feet down Pine Creek when it's needed and natural flow will take care of a lot of our needs. But when the stream is real low we'd like to be able to know that water is going to come out of that lake and go down the stream to New Fork and keep the banks healthy and keep the ecosystem of the stream in a good shape.

Q: What was the reaction of the State Engineer's office to your proposal?

A: The mechanism that we used was a lease of our water to the Game and Fish Department, and we found that Wyoming Water Development Commission needs to be involved in this too. So right now, the lease we drew up with Game and Fish is going through Water Development to the State Engineer, and I believe that he is looking at it, considering it, and we think there will be hearings here in Pinedale so everybody can be aware of what's going on and we can address their concerns. I think that we are going to get this. I have been pretty much assured by those people who are going to be giving me the answers that there is a way to do this, but it's never been done before, the way they are trying to do it, so we are kind of ploughing new ground.