|
 |
 |
 |
||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
1) Alliance’s
30th Anniversary celebration leads Fall events • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 1) Alliance’s 30th Anniversary celebration leads Fall events Thirty years ago, people like you who cared deeply about the future of Jackson Hole joined to form the Alliance for Responsible Planning. Three decades later, our name has changed, but the issues and our mission to keep this valley wild and beautiful remain the same. You’re invited to celebrate past successes and help renew our commitment to Jackson Hole’s future at our 30th anniversary celebration on Saturday, Sept. 19, at Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton National Park. Our gala evening will feature an exclusive silent art auction, “The Art of Conservation: 30 Artists, 30 Years,” the premiere of the Alliance’s 30th anniversary film by Charlie Craighead, and great live music from Tom Turiano and Valerie Seaberg. No-host cocktails begin at 5:30 p.m., dinner is at 6:30 p.m., and two donated pieces by renowned artist Robert Bateman will be auctioned live at 7:15 p.m. Tickets are $60 per person to cover costs; sponsorship tables of eight are available for $1,000, which includes a $520 tax-deductible donation to the Alliance. Also, Jackson Lake Lodge is offering a discounted overnight rate of $119 for attendees; call (800) 628-9988 for details. For more information and to reserve your spot, please contact Lisa Rullman at (307) 733-9417 or Lisa@jhalliance.org. Other upcoming Alliance events include: Each Tuesday through the fall Tuesday, Sept. 8 Saturday, Sept. 12 Wednesday, Sept. 16 Saturday, Sept. 19 Sunday, Oct. 4 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 2) Comp Plan review makes slow but encouraging progress The town and county planning commissioners are continuing to chip away at the draft Comp Plan in weekly public hearings each Thursday, 5:30 to 9 p.m., county commissioners’ chambers, 200 S. Willow. Encouragingly, a majority of the commissioners seem to be taking the public comments made to date to heart. In August, they recommended a number of changes to the draft’s vision and wildlife chapters that could help the Comp Plan work to uphold our community’s number one priority: Permanent protection of our iconic wildlife. For instance, they recommended that community character and quality of life be added to the vision statement, that “least growth” solutions be considered and that wildlife protection policies apply throughout Teton County, not just in the Natural Resources Overlay. (Visit www.jacksontetonplan.com for links to all the recommendations to date and for agendas for coming meetings. A rundown of the meetings so far is available at www.jhalliance.org/Library/Alerts/2009/CompPlanMeetingsSummer09.pdf.) This month, hearings are set for Sept. 3, 10, 17 and 24. On Sept. 3, Laurie Andrews of the Jackson Hole Land Trust and rancher Brad Mead are scheduled to talk about conserving open space and agriculture, then the planning commissioners will take brief public comments and continue discussing Theme One – “Promote Stewardship of Wildlife and Natural Resources” before moving on in coming weeks to Theme Two, “Managing Growth Responsibly.” The original schedule laid out at the end of July had the planning commissioners cruising through Theme Four by now, but that has proved to be overly optimistic. Kinks in the review process are still being worked out, and we commend the volunteer planning commissioners for hanging in there. Meanwhile, much of the review process continues to be cumbersome. To be included in staff reports, written comments for each hearing’s discussion topics must be submitted by 9 a.m. one week prior to the meeting. (Visit www.jhalliance.org/library.htm#comments for links to the Alliance’s detailed comments submitted to date.) Each Friday, the planning commissioners’ recommendations from the night before are supposed to be posted at www.jacksontetonplan.com, where comments on those recommendations must be submitted online within one week. (Written comments may also be submitted via email to Jeff Noffsinger at jnoffsinger@ci.jackson.wy.us or Alex Norton at anorton@tetonwyo.org, or in person at the town or county planning offices.) Also, at this time it’s unclear how the planning commissioners are going to review changes to the draft after the planning staff makes them, and when and how the public will be able to comment on a revised draft of the Comp Plan that incorporates the changes recommended by the planning commissioners. The Conservation Alliance will continue to provide detailed comments and to represent our 2,000-plus members at the weekly hearings to ensure that Jackson Hole ends up with a plan that will actually protect our wildlife, natural resources and quality of life. We’re also holding weekly informal discussions on the Comp Plan for interested community members each Tuesday through the fall, 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. at our office, 685 S. Cache St. Please check back for updates. Background information on the Jackson/Teton County Comprehensive Plan is available at www.jhalliance.org/issuescompplan.htm.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 3) Other community planning updates In addition to the Comp Plan, the Alliance continues to keep an eye on a slew of other community planning matters. Here’s a roundup, but please bear in mind that all meetings are subject to change. Call the Town of Jackson at (307) 733-3932, Teton County at (307) 733-8094, or reach Kristy Bruner at Kristy@jhalliance.org or (307) 733-9417 for confirmation. If you’d like to comment on any of these issues, contact information for all local public officials is available at www.jhalliance.org/takeactioncontacts.htm. MORATORIUM UPDATE -- Since the Comp Plan process is taking longer than originally thought, on Aug. 18, the Teton Board of County Commissioners voted to extend a moratorium on large residential subdivisions to March 31, 2010. The freeze will continue to be applied only to parcels larger than 20 acres. While our community decides how to plan for responsible growth, this temporary freeze provides relief from development pressures that could otherwise compromise the process. TETON MEADOWS LAWSUIT DISMISSED -- In a related matter, in August a district judge dismissed a lawsuit that the developer of Teton Meadows Ranch filed against Teton County regarding the above moratorium. Sequoia Development had proposed a 500-unit planned unit development for affordable housing on a 288-acre rural-zoned property at the southern end of South Park in late 2007. Hearings on this project were in the works when the county first approved the moratorium, which included developments like Teton Meadows, in May 2008. Sequoia withdrew its application shortly afterward, but then in June 2008, the company filed a petition in Ninth District Court asking that the residential development moratorium be overturned. On August 12, Judge Scott W. Skavdahl wrote that, “Even if Sequoia had standing to pursue this appeal, its withdrawal of the application prior to a vote on its merits, or even on application of the freeze resolution exception, resulted in the failure to exhaust its administrative remedies. Accordingly, this court must and hereby dismisses the appeal.” WORKFORCE HOUSING -- On Sept. 9, a seven-member appointed panel will start trying to figure out how our community can implement a goal in the draft Comp Plan to house 65 percent of Teton County’s workforce locally. The volunteer panel members (Rich Bloom, Peg Gilday, Bland Hoke, Dave Larsen, Jenny Mayfield, Mel Orchard and Jim Waldrop) are scheduled to meet twice a month for six months to examine the issue of workforce housing and to formulate “a proposed 10-year production plan.” The public is invited to the first meeting, 1 to 2:30 p.m., Sept. 9, Teton County Housing Authority, 260 W. Broadway. We’ll keep you posted on the results. VEGETATION STUDY -- Thanks to a generous grant from 1% for the Tetons awarded in August, the Conservation Alliance is contracting with Craighead Beringia South to begin preparing a map showing what kinds of vegetation exist in Teton County. This project will help to fill one of the largest data gaps regarding wildlife and habitats in the county, providing baseline information that’s critical to future efforts to protect the area’s wildlife habitat and natural resources on private lands. The more we know about how much and what kinds of habitat are out there, and whether wildlife can get to it and find enough to live on, the better we can monitor incremental changes and consider the cumulative impacts of individual land use decisions. Click here for more information. ZONE CHANGE SOUGHT -- On Sept. 8, at 3 p.m., 150 E. Pearl, the following Jackson Town Council workshop is tentatively scheduled: Greg Prugh Jr. is applying for a zone change in a multi-block area encompassed by Millward, West Kelly, Hansen and Glenwood. Councilors plan to consider changing the area’s current zoning of Neighborhood Conservation-Mobile Home Park and Auto-Urban Residential to Urban Residential. This item was postponed from an August 17 workshop. MILLS HOTEL PMD UPDATE -- In July 2008, despite opposition from the Alliance and others, the JacksonTown Council approved a master plan for a four-story, 156,000-square-foot planned mixed-use development project at the site of the Painted Buffalo Inn on Pearl Ave. Since then, Save Historic Jackson Hole filed a lawsuit asking for the approval to be rescinded, and the Town of Jackson, joined by the developer, Mills Wyoming LLC, filed motions to dismiss the case on a series of procedural issues. Rejecting most of their arguments, this past summer Judge Nancy Guthrie of Teton County District Court concluded that Save Historic Jackson Hole’s challenge is “fit for judicial decision.” The group contends that town councilors’ decision to approve the project was inconsistent with the Jackson/Teton County Comprehensive Plan and the town’s land development regulations. They also contend, as the Alliance has, that the PMD tool has been arbitrarily and inconsistently applied. For background information on the PMD, visit www.jhalliance.org/Library/Alerts/2009/TownDevelopment.3-09.pdf. NEW PMD COMING? -- At its Sept. 21 workshop, 3 p.m., 150 E. Pearl, the Jackson Town Council is tentatively scheduled for a pre-application conference on a new planned mixed-use development project proposed by Jim Anderson for the corner of Gill and Center. Also at this workshop, town planners are expected to present councilors with a list of staff-recommended changes to the land development regulations. We’ll keep you posted. RECESSION DELAYS ROAD PROJECTS; JAX SOUTH PLANS PROCEED -- The Wyoming Department of Transportation is feeling the economic crunch, and for Teton County this means a delay of all the projects currently on the table, some for many years. The bridge replacement across the Snake River at Hoback Junction, and the widening and realignment of that intersection now won’t begin until 2011. The controversial reconstruction of “Jackson South” – the 7-mile section of Hwy. 26/89/189/191 from southern South Park Loop Road to Hoback Junction, has been postponed until 2016, a delay of four years. Meanwhile, however, WYDOT wants to nail down its plans for a 5-lane design of that section, despite opposition from Teton County commissioners, the Alliance and others concerned that so many lanes will fragment habitat and increase hazards for wildlife (not to mention motorists) moving through the valley. The Alliance supports a modified 3-lane alternative similar to one proposed by the county commissioners but rejected by WYDOT engineers as unsafe. Our public comments are available via www.jhalliance.org/library.htm#comments. WYDOT’s final environmental impact statement on the reconstruction project is due out later this year. (UPDATE: In late September, WYDOT officials said the final EIS probably won't be released until Winter 2010.) GRAVEL -- On Aug. 17, the Teton County Gravel Study 2009 Update was released. It identifies 13 specific parcels in the county as potential sites for long-term gravel extraction and processing, and reassesses supply vs. demand for gravel for construction projects in light of the recession. The Teton Board of County Commissioners is scheduled to discuss procedures for reviewing the study at a 10 a.m. workshop on Sept. 8, commissioners’ chambers, 200 S. Willow. Due to the impacts of gravel extraction on wildlife, wildlife habitat and the quality of life of adjoining neighbors, the Conservation Alliance supports a full public review of this study. We’ll be posting our comments on the report online at www.jhalliance.org later this fall. ENERGY MITIGATION -- In a welcome move, the Teton Board of County Commissioners recently passed an energy mitigation program that establishes fees to discourage inefficient building practices (such as heated driveways) and credits to encourage energy efficient practices (such as homes under 2,500 square feet, solar panels and super insulation). Fees will be waived for projects meeting third-party energy efficiency accreditation, such as LEEDs certification. The program goes into effect in January 2010.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 4) Forest Service land sale, employee housing plans proceed Bridger-Teton National Forest officials say that an environmental assessment regarding the conveyance of Forest Service land on North Cache will be out in September. This EA is expected to describe how much and which parts of the 15-acre administrative site will be offered for sale, as well as detail plans for putting more employee housing at the Forest Service’s 80-acre site off Nelson Drive in East Jackson. Due to our concerns about the intensity and types of development that could end up at Jackson’s north gateway, and the potential impacts on wildlife at the Nelson Drive site, the Alliance advocates for the least amount of land to be sold on North Cache, with administrative offices and employee housing to be located on the remaining acreage, rather than at the east edge of Jackson in prime wildlife habitat. We’d also like to see any sale postponed until after the Jackson/Teton County Comprehensive Plan revision process is completed; this delay might also result in a better sale price with an improving economy. There will be a 30-day comment period for the EA and Michael Shrotz of the B-T has agreed to present details at the Alliance’s Oct. 21 info lunch. (UPDATE: This presentation has been postponed to the Nov. 18 info lunch.) Also, the Teton Board of County Commissioners and the Jackson Town Council are scheduled to discuss the Forest Service’s plans at 3 p.m., Sept. 14, county commissioners’ chambers, 200 S. Willow. Visit www.ProtectThePuttPutt.com for more information regarding people’s concerns about the plans. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 5) BLM makes more acreage in Wyoming Range off limits to energy development During an August celebration to mark the passage of the Wyoming Range Legacy Act, which prohibits new leases for energy exploration and development on 1.2 million acres of the Bridger-Teton National Forest, Bureau of Land Management officials announced that they would not be issuing leases on 24,000 additional acres of the forest. The Interior Board of Land Appeals had ruled that the environmental studies done on these lands were inadequate and had to be supplemented. While the Forest Service was complying with this ruling, Congress passed the Wyoming Range Legacy Act, and the BLM decided to return money to the bidders for 23 leases that it had sold but not yet issued. Still in contention are an additional 20,000 acres on the Wyoming Range, where leases were both sold and issued. The supplemental environmental impact statement regarding these acres is expected this winter. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 6) Other public lands news JOIN THE ALLIANCE’S PUBLIC LANDS COMMITTEE -- The Alliance is reestablishing a committee to focus on public lands issues in the valley. Our first meeting will be an overview of these issues and discussion about various policies. Please bring a brown bag lunch and join us at the Alliance office, 685 S. Cache, at noon on Sept. 8, for an hour of thoughtful consideration of how best to protect and sustain Jackson Hole’s wildlife, and scenic and natural resources. For more information, contact Louise Lasley at (307) 733-9417 or Louise@jhalliance.org. BRIDGER-TETON MANAGEMENT PLAN -- Although it looks like legal battles over national forest planning rules are almost over, Bridger-Teton National Forest officials are continuing to find ways to amend the B-T’s existing 1990 planning document until the courts make a final decision. The first amendment focuses on the plan’s standards and guidelines; it’s expected to be released for a 30-day scoping comment period later this month. Please check back for updates. PARK WINTER USE COMMENTS DUE SEPT. 8 -- In July, the Obama administration announced a two-year temporary plan to cut back the number of snowmobiles allowed in Yellowstone National Park from 720 to 318 a day. The proposed rule would also limit snowcoaches to 78 per day, require snowmobilers to use guides and the cleanest-running machines available, and require the park to develop a long-range plan regarding winter use within the next two years. The National Park Service has worked on developing such a plan for more than 10 years now. Differing plans and lawsuits filed by groups opposing and supporting more snowmobiles in the park have left the public unsure what to expect from year to year. Right before Yellowstone opened last winter, a Wyoming district court judge’s ruling allowed 720 snowmobiles a day in the park. At the time, park officials were trying to complete a temporary plan on which the one above is based. That effort was in response to a Washington, D.C., district court judge’s ruling that threw out a September 2007 “final” plan that allowed 540 snowmobiles a day. The Conservation Alliance believes that excessive snowmobile use in Yellowstone is detrimental to the park’s wildlife and habitat, and to the experience of nature. The National Park Service is taking public comments on the new plan until Sept. 8. The rule and comment forms are available at www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#documentDetail?R=09000064809fa1b8. ROADLESS RULE -- In August, the Obama administration pledged to defend a 2001 Clinton-era ban on road construction in nearly 60 million acres of national forest. The “roadless rule” has been in and out of the courts for years. New U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the agency supports protecting roadless areas and will seek to lift a Wyoming federal court injunction against the rule. The roadless rule limits logging, mining and energy development in roadless areas that make up nearly a third of all national forest land, including 3.2 million acres of public land in Wyoming. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 7) Conservation groups seek injunction against Idaho and Montana wolf hunts On August 21, conservation groups including the Alliance asked a federal district court to block fall wolf hunts in Idaho and Montana. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed wolves in both states from the endangered species list in March, and Idaho has since set a quota that would allow as many as 220 wolves to be killed, starting Sept. 1. Montana’s season is set to begin Sept. 15, with a quota of 75 wolves. U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy is expected to rule shortly -- please check back and visit www.jhalliance.org/issueswolves.htm for background information. (UPDATE: On Sept. 8, Judge Molloy issued an order finding that the delisting of wolves in the northern Rockies was likely illegal. But he declined to stop wolf hunts in Idaho and Montana, because the coalition did not prove that a single hunting season at these levels in Montana and Idaho would "irreparably harm" the wolf population as a whole. Click here for more information.) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 8) Check out our Fall Alliance News magazine! The Fall 2009 Alliance News magazine is now available online at www.jhalliance.org/library.htm. (Just click on the cover photo of the Tetons.) Along with updates on many issues, it includes a special section focusing on our accomplishments of the past 30 years, and on the people who helped make them happen. You’re also welcome to stop by and pick up a free printed copy at the Alliance office, 685 S. Cache. (A map to our office is available at www.jhalliance.org/contact.htm.) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 9) Valley Voices “You’ve got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down.” -- Ray Bradbury
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Alliance Action is a publication of the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance. The Conservation Alliance is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to responsible land stewardship in Jackson Hole to ensure that human activities are in harmony with the area’s irreplaceable wildlife, scenic, and other natural resources. We’re located at 685 South Cache Street in Jackson, Wyoming. Our mailing address is P.O. Box 2728, Jackson, WY 83001-2728 and our phone number is (307) 733-9417. If you'd like to sign up to receive our monthly Alliance Action via email, please click here. |
|
Home | About
Us | Take
Action | Issues | Monthly
Agenda | Events | Success
Stories | Library | Maps | Join
and Donate |