JACKSON HOLE CONSERVATION ALLIANCE

P.O. Box 2728

Jackson, WY 83001

(307) 733-9417

www.jhalliance.org

6/1/07

A Brief History of Grand Targhee's Resort Application

Grand Targhee has been operating as a ski resort since 1969 under a special use permit from the forest service. At first, the forest service owned all the land – the base with its development, and the hill with its lifts and ski runs. In 1994, the forest service authorized the last Master Plan for development at the base. Although this plan has no standing now that the land is private, it did identify many environmental concerns.

In 2000, the Gillett family purchased Targhee’s buildings, infrastructure and ‘hill lease’ good through 2029 from Booth Creek Ski Holdings for $11 million.

In 2004, 120 acres at the base of the resort was privatized after a lengthy land swap process in which the forest service received in trade about 400 acres of Squirrel Meadows, a private inholding between Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. The Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, along with numerous other organizations, opposed this swap on environmental grounds and went to federal court, where the final rejection of their appeal was written in 2004. The purchase price ended up being about $28,000 per acre for the 120 acres at Targhee’s base.

Grand Targhee currently has:

• A 2,399-acre ski hill Special Use Permit from Caribou-Targhee National Forest;

• 120 acres of private inholding zoned Rural, surrounded by Caribou-Targhee
National Forest – 30.3 acres of the inholding are currently “disturbed” with
development; and

• 96 guest accommodation units.

Under its current zoning, Grand Targhee could expand as follows:

• The 120-acre inholding is zoned Rural with an existing non-conforming use that
may be expanded by 20 percent of the floor area of a single-use structure, but
construction of a new structure is not allowed. Simply stated, by current rights,
the resort can expand its floor area by 20 percent, or by about 19 new units.

• Using a Density Bonus, Grand Targhee can take 70 of its acres and create two
35-acre parcels with a possible 6 units per parcel if 70 percent of the land is
designated as open space. This would yield 12 new units and 49 acres of open
space within the120-acre inholding.

Total current allowable build-out:
                  Existing units (96 units) + 20 percent non-conforming use expansion (19 units ) + 70 percent density bonus (12 units) = A total of 127 units

Grand Targhee owner Geordie Gillett is seeking a zone change from Rural to Resort (Planned Unit Development – Planned Resort) and wants to build 622 dwelling units on the 120-acre inholding capable of accommodating 3,078 people and 450 employees. As of Summer 2007, the Teton County, Wyoming, Board of Commissioners continues to hold hearings on the matter.

###

The Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance is a non-profit organization dedicated to responsible land stewardship to ensure that human activities are in harmony with the area’s irreplaceable wildlife, scenic and other natural resources. The organization has 2,000 members from Jackson Hole and across the nation.