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Attributes of Fremont County

• Scenic Vistas

• Working farms and ranches

• Open Space

• Lakes, rivers and meandering Streams

• Diverse wildlife ecosystem

Sportsman’s Paradise

• Fishing

• Hunting

• Boating

• Snowmobiling

• Hiking

• Back Packing

• Camping

New Series of Forums - Preservation of Wildlife in Fremont County  ►► MORE INFORMATION HERE ◄◄

Smart Growth Coalition: Protecting Our Community, Property Values and Natural Resources

What is Smart Growth?
Smart growth serves the environment, economy, and the community equally by balancing economic sustainability, environmental protection, social equity, and public health.

What is the Smart Growth Coalition?
SGC is a grassroots, Idaho nonprofit corporation with IRS 501(c)3 status made up of concerned individuals and organizations who care about sustainable growth and preservation of natural resources in Fremont County.

Our Vision:
Fremont County is widely known for its prosperous working farms and ranches, scenic vistas, diverse wildlife, year-around recreational activities, and thriving, compact communities brought about by the triumph of smart growth development.

Our Mission:
As more people call Fremont County home, Smart Growth Coalition supports policies that keep our communities vibrant and our landscapes healthy for present and future generations.

About Fremont County:
Located in Southeastern Idaho, Fremont County is an important segment of the 22 million acre Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Our County’s entire northern boundary with Montana follows the rugged, mountainous continental divide that cradles the headwaters of famed Henry’s Fork River. Our 30 mile eastern border with Wyoming contains a primitive, 24 mile long strip, two miles deep of Yellowstone Park with the remaining 6 miles running through heavy forest lands. The higher dryland farming elevations in the southeast corner of the county borders Teton County, the lower irrigated elevations borders Madison County. The western side of the county is mostly composed of Public Lands bordered by a small corner of Jefferson County, with most of it shared by sparsely populated Clark County. Out of a total of 1.2 million acres, federal and state government owns 68% of the county. Privately owned lands amounts to 32%.

■ Rich in natural resources, our County contains some of the most important areas in the entire Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Within the forested lands of the north ringed by a volcanic caldera, rises the Henrys Fork River and runs the length of Fremont County. It’s a river with world renown fishing, home to wetlands and aquatic systems vital to wildlife as well as a source of water for our agricultural community throughout southern Idaho.

■ We have one of the most diverse wildlife populations of any county in the United States that includes deer, elk, moose, mountain goats, grizzly bears, wolves bald eagles sandhill cranes, trumpeter swans, and the increasingly rare Yellowstone cutthroat trout. Out of all the large game animals found in Yellowstone National Park, only Bighorn Sheep are not found in Fremont county.

■ Wildlife is the magnet that draws people to Fremont County and in terms of economic importance, is equal to Agriculture.

■ One very important part of our wildlife ecosystem is located in the southwestern desert area bordering the famous Sand Dunes. During the summer, big game animals are found dispersed throughout the higher elevations of the county. With the arrival of winter snow in the fall, elk, moose and deer use the riparian river corridors to migrate down to their winter range in the lowlands. Anything that disrupts the migration or limits the amount of forage during the winter, directly impacts wildlife numbers throughout the county.

■ Agriculture not only contributes heavily to the value of scenic vistas and open space, it is also one of the very important drivers of the economy.

■ Our working farms and ranches, are surrounded by spectacular views of towering mountain peaks, thick forests, quartz sand dunes, and sage brush flats. We also have one of the most captivating and uncompromising landscapes with beautiful lakes and streams, surrounded by lush mountain meadows that supports one of the most diverse wildlife populations found in the United States.

■ In Fremont County there are 29 square miles of water that are enjoyed by everyone. There are the Ashton and Island Park reservoirs, and spectacular waterfalls such as the Upper and Lower Mesa Falls, Sheep Falls, and Cave Falls. The Henry's Fork of the Snake River is known worldwide for its excellent fly-fishing. Because it flows through a mixture of public and private lands with such diverse habitats, it is the most vulnerable to development.