These landowners then organized the advisory committee and requested assistance from agencies and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in the form of a technical advisory committee. They have also guided a dynamic planning process that has been effective in implementing projects to benefit fish and fish habitat, while developing a long-term plan to address some of the more controversial aspects of watershed enhancement. The region has a mixture of land ownership. Most of the valley bottoms are privately owned. Land ownership is approximately 90 percent federal and 10 percent private.
Snow pack is a key to stream flow each year.
No appreciable water storage systems exist in any of the three basins except what is stored in the underground aquifers. Beef cattle are the number one agriculture product, with about 25,000 cows present in the three watersheds. Some small dairies exist near Salmon. Lamb production has dropped from an annual high of 50,000 animals in the 1960s to only 2,000 today. Most sheep grazing allotments have been converted to allotments for cattle.