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Green River Drift Sommers-Price cattle drive. Pinedale Online file photo.

The Green River Drift has been formally listed on the National Register for Historic Places. For more than 100 years, the Drift has been key to cattle movements from the southern desert lands of Sublette County to the Forest Service allotments of the Upper Green River, a distance of more than 58 miles. As such, the Drift has been an essential, culture-defining element of historic ranching in western Wyoming, a distinction the NRHP recognized by categorizing the Drift as a Traditional Cultural Property (TCP).

A TCP designation is usually used to designate features essential to indigenous cultures. The idea that the Drift constituted a NRHP-eligible TCP, essential to the Green River ranching community, originated with AHW board member, Dave Vlcek, who previously worked for the Pinedale BLM. Recognition of the Drift as a non-native TCP will hopefully help to broaden our understanding of cultural landscapes in the future.

The NRHP nomination was prepared by WySHPO and Jonita Sommers, local rancher and historian who may be best known for her family's stewardship of the Sommers Ranch Homestead, along with assistance from many other local historians and ranchers.

For information and advice on NRHP nominations, contact AHW or SHPO.

Related Links National Register - National Park Service Wyoming SHPO - Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office www.historicwyoming.org/wp/ - Alliance for Historic Wyoming Green River Drift - 2004 article, Pinedale Online (34 photos)