Prairie Creek's Restoration, Part I Fall 2025
A look at Prairie Creek before the restoration process. Notice the enlarged banks.
Restoring Prairie Creek, Part 1
Brief History of the Land
If you've visited us, you know we're in Daniel, Wyoming, about an hour southwest of Jackson Hole. If you haven't been here, let me give you a lay of the land so you can visualize it. The ranch spans about 350 acres of grasslands, with two spring creeks, ponds, and several large lakes. We're at an elevation of about 7,200 feet, and surrounded by mountains on the west, north and east.
For the last few years, we've been working with the Wyoming Fish & Game Department on restoring one of the spring creeks called Prairie Creek to enhance the fish habitat. Prairie Creek runs throughout the property diagonally for just short of two miles. The creek provides a significant habitat for water fowl, birds of prey, moose, mule and whitetail deer.
Jemas Ranch - under other names - has been a cattle ranch for well over 100 years. Our water rights on the Green River and Grass Creek were deeded as far back as the late 1800s. Today, the ranch still operates mainly as a cattle ranch, grazing several hundred head of cattle and producing hay from the irrigated fields. There's no question that cattle are good for the land and many positive things come from raising cattle. But with streams and creeks, cattle grazing has a devastating effect on the water quality, impacting fish, insects and other animal habitats. Creek banks become enlarged, mud and silt cover the creek floor, which eliminates aquatic insect life, and also destroys riffles, pools and undercut banks that fish need for protection and survival.
This Incredible Property
One look at this property and this beautiful creek, and we knew Jemas Ranch was destined to be the ultimate fly fishing haven. This beautiful creek is truly what gave us the vision. We had a lot of work to complete, but the biggest labor of love has been the stream restoration. To make Jemas Ranch into a place we would want to bring our family and friends and invite you to do the same, we knew we needed to restore the stream, turning it back into a productive fishery.
The Stream Restoration Process
Stream restoration involves much more than digging out pools for fish to be kept in. It is taking something that is not functioning and making it functional. It is turning a dead creek into a living creek, full of trout. Our goal is to leave this land better than we found it, so when work is done, we want it to look like we were never here, with the spring creek maintaining itself as a fishery, where fish want to inhabit and stay for decades to come.
We were fortunate to have all the resources need for an amazing restoration right here at our fingertips at the ranch, from a multitude of willows, to some of the best fine gravels, to vast amounts of sedge grasses necessary to reclaim banks and stream channels. For this enormous undertaking, we called in the experts. We engaged the help of Louis Wasniewski, a professional Hydrologist & Stream Restoration Expert as the head engineer, and Tara Hicks of Rockin' T Construction as the artist whose paintbrush is a long reach track hoe that she operates with unbelievable finesse to deliver the finest details when constructing pools, point bars, riffles and runs. It is really something to experience. When designing a project like this, much consideration is given to water flows from spring to winter. Functionality can't be lost between high water to low water winter flows.
.
Prairie Creek, Fall 2025
Designing The Creek
Much collaboration has gone into the design process. Here, we have the perspective of the angler vs. that of the hydrologist, and luckily we have a mediator. Jemas Ranch owner Jeff Aleixo, with a lifetime of fly fishing under his belt and years of experience in walk fishing on spring creek and small streams, is concerned with approach, fishability, and creating areas where fish would hold in a pool or tail out. Hydrologist and stream restoration expert Louis, on the other hand, has been focused on relative elevations through the system, with calclulation on volume vs. fall, and velocity and fuctional scouring, so pools and riffles remain clean for enhanced spawning and insect activity that silt in within a few years post-stream restoration. Tara's unenviable role has been to bring those two points of view together and create a stream that functions from an engineering standpoint that is approachable and fishable, and has the artistic value and optics that enhance the spring creek and its banks overall.
The end result takes an enlarged silted in spring creek that is properly sized for efficient flows that promote insect life and trout habitat.
Ready for Fishing
The north part of the creek will be fully restored and ready for fishing in the spring of 2026. That stretch is about a mile long. Restoration will continue on the rest of the creek through 2027, and will hopefully be ready for fishing in the spring of 2027.
We are creating a Vintage Creek Fishing Experience, complete with bamboo rods. Jeff has a large collection of vintage fly fishing equipment, and when you book, you'll have the option of adding in this unique fishing day.
We can't wait to fish with you!
Jemas Ranch owner Jeff Aleixo, Tara Hicks, owner of Rockin' T Construction and Jake Wells of Yellow Dog survey the almost completed restoration Prairie Creek's North end, an almost-mile long stretch of creek.
