Communities that established themselves along the Snake River and its tributaries would have had access to seasonally abundant protein that supported larger and more stable populations than purely terrestrial hunting alone could sustain.

The isotopic evidence that the Buhl Woman ate substantial quantities of fish is consistent with a subsistence strategy oriented toward the river as much as toward the upland game.

The connection to the river is also the connection to the freshwater reservoir problem.

The Snake River flows through basalt and other volcanic rocks, as well as through sedimentary formations with carbonate content.

The water chemistry of the Snake River carries dissolved carbonate minerals that create the reservoir effect — enriching the dissolved carbon in the river with radiocarbon-dead carbon from ancient geological sources.