Our Long-Term Vision

Jackson Hole is a national model of a strong community living in balance with nature.

1. Adopt county-wide conservation goals and metrics

The joint Town/County 2012 Comprehensive Plan’s vision to “protect and preserve the area’s ecosystem” is bold and visionary. To ensure that we adequately live up to this vision, we are working with conservation partners to define clear and measurable goals for wildlife, open space, waterways, climate, and other ecosystem indicators – then get the Town/County to formally adopt them.

2. Ensure the Comprehensive Plan update strengthens provisions for ecosystem stewardship and smart growth

The 2012 Comprehensive Plan has an ambitious vision: “to preserve and protect the area’s ecosystem.” Eight years later, our community has a chance to refresh our vision, goals, and strategies. We support clarifying and adding to the Comp Plan in this year’s formal update process, and we will fiercely oppose any attempts to weaken its focus on ecosystem stewardship or to allow sprawling development on important open space.

3. Publish clear vision for transportation in Jackson Hole

It’s hard for people and wildlife to get around Jackson Hole. We have serious seasonal traffic congestion, not enough START bus service, unsafe intersections and dangerously fast traffic, and an average of over 500 large wildlife-vehicle collisions every year. Ground transportation accounts for over 60% of our community’s climate pollution. WYDOT is proposing to dramatically widen the highways that bisect our community – increasing traffic and climate pollution. We will develop a clear alternative vision for the future of our highways and transportation system.

4. Ensure responsible development on Snow King

We want Snow King to succeed as our Town Hill, not an amusement park, and believe that development can occur in balance with protecting wildlife habitat and community character. The new investors at Snow King are pushing an all-or-nothing development scheme and are trying to convince our community that we must either accept ziplines and bulldozing Northern Goshawk habitat – or watch Snow King fail. We believe that our Town Hill deserves better, and that a better outcome is possible.

5. Establish a dedicated public funding source for conservation

We can’t say this better than the Comprehensive Plan: “The community should explore the establishment of a dedicated funding source for conservation easements and other measures that protect the wildlife habitat, habitat connections, and scenery valued by the community... A dedicated funding source would allow the Town and County to work with conservation groups and private landowners to permanently protect from development and actively steward lands valuable to the community.” (Policy 1.4.d) We are working on this with many partners.

6. Publish clear vision for responsible and “smart” land-use and growth

Our community faces difficult choices in planning, development, wildlife management, and public investment. Jackson Hole should be a national model for a community living in balance with nature while remaining a true community, not just a resort destination. We can protect wildlife habitat and build enough workforce housing for 65% of our workers to live in our valley. We will develop a “smart growth” vision for the future of our valley – a touchstone we can refer to during decisions that will determine our future.

A Great Blue Heron wades in shining blue water

Photo Credit: Natasha Hilton @natashawinterrose

7. Watchdog bad (and good) development proposals, regulations, and laws

We encourage smart growth that supports a vibrant community and climate sustainability, protects our ecosystem, and preserves open space. We will advocate to direct growth away from rural areas and into walkable neighborhoods through zoning changes and tools and incentives that shift growth. We will continue to fight proposals to upzone or develop in greenfields (like Hog Island or Northern South Park) unless they are models of responsible planning and good design and include significant conservation of higher-value habitat.

8. Require bear-proof trash cans countywide

Too many bears die unnecessarily because they get into humans’ garbage. This is unacceptable. We are working with partners and the town and county to adopt new regulations for residents and trash haulers that would require everyone to use bear-proof trash cans.

9. Train and support new leaders through the Conservation Leadership Institute, Get on Boards initiative, and New Voter Project

We will continue training new leaders through our flagship Conservation Leadership Institute. We will support more people from underrepresented communities in Teton County (youth, women, Latinx) to vote, join appointed boards and commissions (through the Get on Boards initiative), and run for elected office.

10. Propose world-class county & town natural resource protections, starting with water quality protections

We are working with partners on strategies to protect our water quality – ever-more important given recent reports of Fish Creek and Flat Creek impairment, and water safety issues in Hoback. We will ask the county to finish developing new natural resource protections, including incentives to protect important wildlife migration and movement routes through agricultural land.

11. Develop conservation proposal to decrease extractive uses of our public lands in Bridger-Teton Forest Plan revision

We will work with partners to protect wild lands by permanently removing industrial extractive uses like drilling, logging, mining, and new roads in the Bridger-Teton Forest Plan revision. We will look for opportunities to balance recreation and conservation through creative land designations; prioritize protection of wildlife connectivity; and use a climate change lens on public lands decisions.

12. Stop the threat of helicopter tours

We fought off helicopter tours in 2001, but they’re back. A new operator is flying tours over Grand Teton National Park, wilderness areas, and the National Elk Refuge. We are helping community members raise their voices against this proposal and working with national partners to get federal legislation to have Safe and Quiet Skies once and for all.

13. Persuade our town/county to hire dedicated conservation staff

We are grateful for the work that town and county planning staff do on behalf of our ecosystem. However, there is no staff position focused on natural resources, ecosystem conservation, climate action or sustainability. We are working with partners to ask the town and county to bring back these positions and their capacity to protect our wildlife, their habitat, and the health of our ecosystem.