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1) What
can YOU do to help get safe wildlife crossings
for Teton County? • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 1) What can YOU do to help get safe wildlife crossings for Teton County? According to the Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation, more than 300 elk, deer and moose, plus countless other animals, are killed each year by vehicles on Teton County roads. This month, you have three chances to find out how you can help stop this from happening by throwing your support behind efforts already underway to get the Wyoming Department of Transportation to incorporate safe wildlife crossings in its plans for widening valley highways in coming years. On Sept. 20 (6 p.m. at the Old Wilson Schoolhouse Community Center) and again on Sept. 21 (noon at the Alliance office, 685 S. Cache St.), researchers from Montana State University's Western Transportation Institute will present the results of their study on which measures to reduce road kills will work best for three local highways slated for expansion – Jackson South Hwy. 89, Hwy. 22 from Jackson to Wilson, and Hwy. 390 to Teton Village. Then on Sept. 22, 5 to 7 p.m. at the Alliance, we're hosting a celebration with Safe Wildlife Crossings for Jackson Hole to promote the study's recommendations and to cheer the progress our community has made toward its goal of protecting both wildlife and motorists to date. In the study contracted by the Alliance, the Western Transportation Institute has used data from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation, Teton Science Schools and Bridger-Teton National Forest to identify “high wildlife-vehicle collision zones” and make recommendations to mitigate the impacts of the coming highway expansions. WYDOT needs to hear loud and clear that our community supports safe wildlife crossings, especially since the agency recently issued a record of decision confirming that it will start work in 2015 to add three more lanes to a 6-mile stretch of Jackson South Hwy. 89 already known for road kills. Teton County, 1% for the Tetons, the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole, the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, Patagonia, Inc. and many community members have all generously helped fund the study, which will be released in its final form later this fall. Another way you can help is by adding your donation via www.wildlifecrossingsjh.org. For more information regarding the study and this month's events, please contact Alliance Public Lands Director Louise Lasley at (307) 733-9417 or Louise@jhalliance.org, or click here for the Sept. 14, 2011, Jackson Hole News&Guide article. Click here for our poster! (UPDATE: The final version of the wildlife crossings study, titled "Highway Mitigation Opportunities for Wildlife in Jackson Hole," is now available – click here to download the 8.8 mb PDF, and click here for some background information about it.) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 2) More wildlife news PUBLIC COMMENTS ON WYOMING'S NEW WOLF MANAGEMENT PLAN DUE BY SEPT. 9: On August 3, Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials reached an agreement (contingent on approval from the state legislature) that would allow the state's wolves to be removed from Endangered Species Act protection. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is currently taking public comments on the new wolf management plan, which is available by clicking here. Essentially the plan would create a wolf trophy game zone in the northwest corner of Wyoming, but in the 88 percent of the state outside that zone, wolves would be considered predators and could be killed at any time, by any means, without a hunting license. As it now stands, the plan would draw the line between the trophy game and predator areas along Hwy. 89 next to the Palisades Reservoir during winter months, and along Hwy. 22 between Jackson and Wilson the rest of the time, meaning that wolves could be shot on sight or worse in southern Teton County eight months out of the year. Comments on the plan must be received before 5 p.m. on Sept. 9, and should be mailed to Attn.: Wolf Plan Comments, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, 5400 Bishop Blvd., Cheyenne, WY 82006, or faxed to (307) 777-4650. To bolster your comments, please click here for ones the Alliance recently submitted. In brief, we don't think a plan that allows wolves to be killed on sight can be good for the species or for the people of Wyoming. Background information on the wolf issue is available by clicking here. APPEALS COURT FINDS THAT CONTINUED SUPPLEMENTAL FEEDING ON ELK REFUGE UNDERMINES CONSERVATION: On August 3, a federal appeals court confirmed that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is obligated to phase out artificial wintertime feeding of elk and bison on the National Elk Refuge. Although the court ruled against the Alliance and other conservation groups that had sought a firm deadline to end the feeding, its ruling still made it clear that the practice must end soon because crowded feedlines leave herds vulnerable to disease. Click here for a press release about the decision, and here for a link to the August 5, 2011, Jackson Hole Daily article about the ruling. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 3) Town and county electeds to decide next steps for Comp Plan Sept. 13 On Sept. 13, the Jackson Town Council and Teton Board of County Commissioners are set to discuss the Jackson/Teton County Comprehensive Plan character district mapping process, and to decide on a schedule for various community workshops and neighborhood meetings that are now tentatively expected to kick off at the end of this month, probably Sept. 28 and 29. (The Sept. 13 meeting will start at 2 p.m. at the County chambers, 200 S. Willow. Click here for the agenda.) (UPDATE: Town and county planners have confirmed that they will be conducting a two-day public workshop on character districts on Sept. 28 and 29, noon to 8 p.m. both days at the theatre lobby of the Center for the Arts, 265 S. Cache. Participants are welcome either day at any time within the hours noted; completing the workshop orientation and exercise should take about two hours. Further details are available by clicking here. For a letter the Alliance submitted on Sept. 19 regarding involving citizens in the character district mapping process, please click here. For further comments we submitted on Sept. 23, click here.) Ever since the electeds approved the vision and policies segment of the Comp Plan in late June, officials have been laying the groundwork for the second half of the plan – the character district maps, which are intended to illustrate what Jackson Hole will look like in coming years. Following this phase, the electeds think they'll be able to adopt the plan in its entirety around March 2012, and will begin the process of revising the land development regulations after that. (Click here for a link to August's Alliance Action item on the Comp Plan, which provides background information about where the plan stands.) In recent weeks, town and county planners have been collecting pertinent data that they'll use to create draft maps of "character districts" within the valley. Among other things, the maps are meant to delineate which areas are appropriate for growth, and which for conservation. After the electeds figure out the schedule on Sept. 13, the public will have the chance to start viewing and giving feedback on the draft maps. Basically, the character district mapping process is for residents to help decide what they want their neighborhoods to be like in the future. It will also give our community an opportunity to ensure that the maps will accurately reflect and embody the Comp Plan vision and policies approved this past summer. The Alliance believes that meaningful community input, as well as the best available data and science, should inform decisions about the location, type and amount of growth in Jackson Hole. That's why we urge each of you to get and stay involved during this upcoming critical phase. We'll post meeting dates as they're available, so please check back. You can also keep an eye on the Comp Plan website, www.jacksontetonplan.com. The Alliance also plans to hold community meetings about the character districts in neighborhoods throughout the valley this fall; please stay tuned for dates and locations. Meanwhile, contact Becky Tillson at Rebecca@jhalliance.org or (307) 733-9417 with your questions and comments, and for more information on how to get involved. For links to our comments on what needs to happen for the plan to successfully reach its goals of protecting wildlife and managing growth responsibly, click here. And please remember to catch “Comp Plan Uncomplicated,” the Alliance’s weekly updates airing on Jackson Hole community radio station KHOL at 89.1 FM each Wednesday at 4 p.m. Click here for links to all the shows in the series. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 4) Other community planning news In addition to the Comp Plan, the Alliance keeps tabs on quite a few other town and county planning issues. Here’s a partial 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 Becky Tillson at Rebecca@jhalliance.org or (307) 733-9417 for confirmation. Also, this list isn’t exhaustive, since many meeting agendas aren’t finalized until shortly before the meetings take place. Check back or visit www.ci.jackson.wy.us and www.tetonwyo.org for updates. If you’d like to comment on any of these items, contact information for all local public officials is available at www.jhalliance.org/takeactioncontacts.htm. Sept. 6 & 20: Teton Board of County Commissioners regular meetings, 9 a.m., County chambers, 200 S. Willow. Click here for the full agenda for the Sept. 6 meeting. Check www.tetonwyo.org/minutes closer to Sept. 20 for a link to that meeting's agenda. Sept. 6 & 19: Jackson Town Council regular meetings, 6 p.m., Town Hall, 150 E. Pearl. The agendas for these meetings should be available shortly before each date via the town website, www.ci.jackson.wy.us. (Click on "Meeting Agendas" under the "Jackson Government" heading.) Sept. 7 & 8: Series of informational public presentations by conservation planning expert Randall Arendt, sponsored by Plan JH. See Coming Events below for details. Sept. 12: Jackson Town Council and Teton Board of County Commissioners joint information meeting, 3 to 5 p.m., County chambers, 200 S. Willow. The agenda for this JIM should be available shortly via www.tetonwyo.org/minutes. Sept. 13: Joint meeting of the Jackson Town Council and Teton Board of County Commissioners to discuss the Comp Plan character district mapping process, 2 p.m., County chambers, 200 S. Willow. See Alliance Action Item #3 above for details. Sept. 20: Natural Resources Technical Advisory Board meeting, 7 p.m., Teton Conservation District office, 420 W. Pearl. The NRTAB is expected to conduct and review the vegetation mapping draft request for proposal and vegetation classification ordinal rankings before submitting them on Sept. 26 to town and county planners. Please click here for a letter the Alliance submitted on Sept. 16 in preparation for this meeting. (More on the Natural Resources Technical Advisory Board: It's been about 14 months since the NRTAB was approved in June 2010, and the board's members and our elected officials are still working out how to best accomplish its mission to “assist the Teton County Commission and the Jackson Town Council in effectively incorporating scientifically tested and objective natural resource information into policies and planning decisions to sustain the health of ecosystems in Teton County.” To that end, the NRTAB met with the electeds on August 29 to outline various methods for monitoring and protecting the valley's natural resources. Each member of the environmental board took a few minutes to address issues such as the current system of resource protection, and the importance of habitat and connectivity and of waterways and riparian areas. In response, the electeds asked the NRTAB to come up with more information on how vegetation mapping could be used to determine how much and what types of wildlife habitat exist here. We're hopeful that progress will continue to be made. For background information on the NRTAB and vegetation mapping, please click here.) Sept. 28 and 29: Town and county planners have confirmed that they will be conducting a two-day public workshop on character districts on Sept. 28 and 29, noon to 8 p.m. both days at the theatre lobby of the Center for the Arts, 265 S. Cache. Participants are welcome either day at any time within the hours noted; completing the workshop orientation and exercise should take about two hours. Further details are available by clicking here. See Alliance Action Item #3 above for more about the current status of the Comp Plan revision. Update on Recreational Park Trailers: The issue of whether RPTs should be permitted at privately run campgrounds continues to make headlines. (See previous Alliance Actions for background info.) On August 23, Teton County commissioners signed a settlement agreement with the owner of Jackson Hole Campground that allows him to continue using 19 trailers already on the property off the Moose-Wilson Road, as well as bring seven more onto the site. It also allows him to keep part of the campground open year-round, which is a concern given its proximity to critical wintertime wildlife habitat. (Click here for a link to details about the settlement.) On August 29, the commissioners held a workshop to discuss a possible text amendment to regulate RPTs, and directed planning staff to continue to craft appropriate language and bring it back to them for their consideration later this fall. Because of the potential impacts of allowing changes from what has primarily been seasonal campground use, the Alliance is monitoring the RPT issue closely; links to our comments are available via www.jhalliance.org/library.htm#comments. Contact Becky Tillson at Rebecca@jhalliance.org or (307) 733-9417 for further updates. Update on the Mills Hotel planned mixed-use development: In August, the developer of a massive, 4-story hotel approved to replace the modest 2-story Painted Buffalo Inn between Broadway and Pearl decided to drop the project due to the recession. This comes as a great relief to the Alliance and many others in the community who strongly recommended that the 156,338-square-foot planned mixed-use development be denied back in 2008. The Jackson Town Council approved it then despite objections that it would violate the spirit of the town's land development regulations meant to preserve community character by limiting the bulk, scale and density of new structures. The council has since put a moratorium on PMDs that extends through April 2012. For background information on the PMD issue, click here. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 5) Stay tuned for updates on public lands issues expected this fall The Alliance is still awaiting word on several environmental studies and decisions this fall that will affect the public lands surrounding Jackson Hole. These include: • Hoback
Wells – Last month's local screenings
of "Gasland,"
a film depicting the environmental costs of energy
development, reignited citizen opposition to
a proposal to drill
136 natural gas wells only 40 miles southeast
of Jackson in the pristine Noble Basin area of
the Wyoming Range. Bridger-Teton National Forest
staffers are still reviewing the more than 60,000
comments submitted this past winter regarding
the draft environmental impact statement for
the project. In coming weeks, they'll determine
whether the changes recommended in the comments
warrant alterations to Plains Exploration and
Production Company's proposal for full-field
development. • Sale of public land at base of Teton Pass, possible relocation of Bridger-Teton headquarters – As of the end of August, no decision has been announced about whether the Forest Service will pursue its plan to sell 40 acres of the Lee Administrative Site near Trail Creek Ranch in Wilson to help pay for rebuilding the Bridger-Teton's headquarters. There's also been no further word on whether the B-T supervisor's office will be moved out of Jackson. We'll keep you posted here on both counts, so please stay tuned. (Click here for background information.) • The Teton to Snake Fuels Management Project – Bridger-Teton officials are still working on plans for a project intended to reduce the danger of forest fires next to residences from Teton Village south along the Fish/Fall Creek Road corridor all the way to the Snake River Canyon. About 23,000 acres are being considered for fuel-reduction (using mechanical thinning and prescribed burns) within an 80,000-acre swath; a draft environmental analysis is now expected in November. (Click here for scoping comments we submitted regarding the project earlier this year.) We'll post updates on these and other pending issues here as events occur, so please check back. Meanwhile, please feel free to contact Louise Lasley, Alliance public lands director, at (307) 733-9417 or Louise@jhalliance.org with your questions and concerns. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 6) Help keep Jackson Hole wild and beautiful – support us through Old Bill’s Fun Run! Fall is one of the rare times we make a financial appeal to readers of Alliance Action, which we hope you value as one of the best ways you can stay informed about conservation and land use issues facing this treasured valley. If you haven't yet joined the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, please consider signing up by clicking here. You can also support our work to protect the valley by making a donation to the Alliance through Old Bill's Fun Run for Charities, a unique community event that takes place the second Saturday of each September. (See the Sept. 10 item under Coming Events below for details about this year's event.) In these difficult economic times, your help matters. Whether it's $10, $100 or $1000, every dollar counts toward continuing our work to keep this special place wild and beautiful for generations to come. And by giving now, a percentage of your contribution will be matched through Old Bill's. Please visit www.oldbills.org to donate now through Old Bill's. Look for "Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance" in the alphabetical nonprofit list. This year, Old Bill's donations are being accepted through September 16. Thanks for your loyal readership, for caring about Jackson Hole and thanks in advance for your support! • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 7) Only a few weeks left to grab your chance to win our gorgeous trout rug! September is prime fly-fishing time in Jackson Hole, and it's also your last chance to win the Alliance's hand-stitched, one-of-a-kind wool rug featuring beautiful trout art! Only 300 chances are being sold, and the drawing will be held at a special cocktail reception for ticket holders on Sept. 24 at Jackson Hole Golf & Tennis Club. Raffle tickets are $100 each. To purchase yours, please order them online (and see what the rug looks like!) by clicking here. You can also stop by the Alliance office at 685 S. Cache St. in Jackson, give us a call at (307) 733-9417, or email us at info@jhalliance.org to place your order and to get details about the reception. (You do not have to be present at the reception to win.) All proceeds from the raffle will go toward supporting the Alliance’s work to sustain our unique community by standing up for the valley’s wildlife and quality of life. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 8) Search for new Alliance community planning director continues We’re looking for someone to lead our community planning department’s research, strategy development, community engagement and advocacy campaigns. Candidates must have excellent communication skills and a strong track record of professional involvement in environmental and community issues. Ideal candidates will have several years of experience in community planning and grassroots organizing, and an advanced degree in a related field. Interested? Click here for details. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 9) Coming Events Thursday, Sept. 1 Wednesday, Sept. 7 Thursday, Sept. 8 Thursday, Sept. 8 Saturday, Sept. 10 Monday, Sept. 12 Tuesday, Sept. 13 Tuesday, Sept. 20 Wednesday, Sept. 21 Wednesday, Sept. 21 Thursday, Sept. 22 Saturday, Sept. 24 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 10) Valley Voices "Arguably the most fundamental
concerns facing local planning staff and officials
– Randall Arendt • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 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. |
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