GREEN MATTERS IN JACKSON HOLE Destination Management Spring 2022 Issue No. 10
THE DEMOCRATAZATION OF TOURISM
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CLIMATE ACTION PLAN
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SBL PROGRAM
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LOCAL COMPOSTING
Letter from the Editor If you have enjoyed the front cover of this issue and have read past Green Matters in Jackson Hole issues, then you know we’ve evolved this publication’s appearance as well as content. Speaking of content, the focus of this issue is Destination Management. Destination Management must be considered as a partnership between all parts of our community to ensure that tourism maintains or enhances the quality of life of residents and protects the integrity of the environment while contributing to the local economy. Up until a few years ago, very few destinations have been actively managing themselves. With the advent of COVID-19 and a moment in which to rethink and plan for a better future for our community’s relationship with tourism, Teton County, Wyoming has embarked on the development of a Sustainable Destination Management Plan (SDMP) hosted by the Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board. The SDMP project represents the potential for management actions to address our challenges and opportunities presented by tourism in a way that reflects our community’s values and desires, and the promise a different, better tourism future. The articles contained within this issue address just a few considerations of what destination management could mean for us: tourism as a democratic institution, taking climate action, and individual business and personal responsibility for being more environmentally and socially responsible through the programs such as the Sustainable Business Leaders, BEST Certification, and the County’s composting programs. These programs and more would not be possible without the esteemed, excellent work of the Riverwind Foundation Board of Directors and Carlyann Edwards, RWF’s Program Manager. Our program team members include John Rutter, Lindsey Ehinger, Jon Dyer, JoJo Denmark and our newest SBL Hotshots, Megan Kerns and Liv Sears. A few words to our sponsors and community partners: Thank you for sharing your passion and support of our work! All of these people and organizations are a blessing for our community and a privilege to work with.
TIM O’DONOGHUE Executive Director, Riverwind Foundation
Table of Contents ABOUT THE RIVERWIND FOUNDATION
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THE DEMOCRATIZATION OF TOURISM
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OUR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM JOURNEY: LEARNING FROM OUR PEERS
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A CLIMATE ACTION PLAN IN JACKSON HOLE
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MAP: GOING GREEN
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THE SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS LEADERS PROGRAM CONTINUES TO EVOLVE
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THE ROAD TO ZERO WASTE STOPS AT THE CURB FOR COMPOST
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HIDDEN HOLLOW ACHEIVES BEST CERTIFICATION
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Contributors
Tim O’Donoghue
Carlyann Edwards
Sandy Shuptrine
Riverwind Foundation
Riverwind Foundation
Climate Action Collective Teton County ISWR
Becky Keifer
About the Riverwind Foundation The mission of the Riverwind Foundation is to unite efforts to minimize resident and visitor impacts on the Greater Yellowstone and other ecosystems now and for future generations.
Through our destination management and sustainability programs, the Riverwind Foundation has been able to: Train and assist over 400 businesses and organizations in sustainability planning and practices, including doubling the Sustainable Business Leaders to over 200 Inventory the sustainability and responsible tourism plans, policies, and activities of our entire community and destination Provide in-depth sustainability technical assistance and assessments to increase sustainability performance and recognition for the most committed local sustainability leaders in our community through the BEST Certification Program Publish and distribute the Jackson Hole Sustainability Code of Conduct, Jackson Hole Sustainability Report Card, Sustainable Business Guide, and Green Matters in Jackson Hole magazine to over 100,000 visitors and residents Support the development of our community’s Sustainable Destination Management Plan
Through this work, we’ve contributed to our community’s efforts to: Reduce energy, fuel, and water use; waste, and carbon emissions Increase profitability and employee retention Improve air and water quality Reduce traffic and parking congestion Protect wildlife and wild lands Grow the next generation of green leaders
Thank You to our Sponsors Cover photo by Connor Burkesmith
DESIGN & GRAPHICS BY KENNA KUHN KENNASARAE.COM © Marcel - stock.adobe.com
The Democratization of Tourism TIM O’DONOGHUE
Most communities that are travel destinations have seen their tourism economies grow organically and tourism industry collaboration and oversight evolve reactively. At the start, pioneering and influential tourism businesses often assume leadership roles. Collaboration generally starts occurring after a critical mass of tourism operators realize that it makes sense to pool resources for more efficient and effective destination marketing. If that is successful, it is often only in reaction to the stresses that overcrowding and congestion puts on environmental, community, cultural, and commercial resources that collaboration starts to focus on destination management. A host community’s values must direct tourism, not vice versa, and preferably from the start rather than as an emergency response. In order for tourism to be embraced and supported by the community, local stakeholders and residents must drive the planning process; establish a tourism vision, create tourism policy, develop tourism strategies, and set goals, actions, and performance measures. A destination stewardship council comprised of representatives of all segments
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of the community is necessary to ensure that the implementation of tourism management and development plans are consistent with the ethos and diversity of the community. While highly desirable, the democratization of local tourism development is not without its challenges. There are many. Here are two:
A tourism democratization challenge: Change management Community leaders must recognize that change can be hard on people. Successful tourism businesses, for example, may be resistant to change due to perceived costs, and may work to block policies that prioritize environmental stewardship and social responsibility. To this day, despite abundant research to the contrary, there exists an old paradigm perception that economic health is at odds with the environment, culture, and community of a place. A key responsibility of community leaders is to educate all stakeholders on the economic benefits of environmental and social sustainability, as well as the importance of financial sustainability.
Frances Conner
However, once such engagement has begun, it must itself be sustainable; it must be consistently delivered, continuously updated, rigorous, and well-funded. An effective democracy cannot exist without unbiased sources of information and trusted media and educators.
A tourism democratization challenge: The feedback loop Tourism industry officials should be prepared to receive feedback that is hard to hear, especially from places experiencing the negative impacts of overtourism. Development and management plans that are legitimate expressions of community values and priorities must have credible mechanisms for soliciting, tracking, and responding to feedback. Such mechanisms include surveys, webinars and workshops, and other forums that are facilitated by trusted, experienced, and wellorganized professionals.
Hopefully, tourism planners who seek community input do so out of sincere civic responsibility, not out of desperation or as a box-ticking exercise. Jackson Hole is shifting from driving tourism to managing it. As part of our sustainable tourism and destination management efforts, local government has approved a set of overarching sustainability policies and more rigorously incorporated the principles and policies of sustainability in the Jackson/Teton County Comprehensive Plan. The Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board has embarked on the development of a Sustainable Destination Management Plan. These actions are promising steps in developing a more comprehensive set of social, environmental, and economic sustainability performance measures that better reflect our community and its future as a tourism destination.
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Our Sustainable Tourism Journey: Learning from Our Peers TIM O’DONOGHUE
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Board or other parties participating in the development of the Sustainable Destination Management Plan Zion National Park and Springdale, Mesa Verde National Park and Durango, Arches National Park and Moab, Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor, Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks and Jackson Hole. All are travel and tourism destinations whose popularity has been a blessing to the local economy, but the popularity hasn’t always been a blessing to ecosystems and local communities. All of these destinations and many more have seized the time during COVID-19 to ask an existential question and a sanity reality check: is this our tourism future or do we want something better? How can we expect something better if we keep the status quo? Jackson and Teton County are now asking these questions and others to determine:
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“Our challenge and opportunity is to go beyond slowing down the degradation of our environment and quality of life to regenerating these to our meet our ideals. We can and must do better.”
Connor Burkesmith Spring 2022 Issue No. 10
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A) What is our current situation? B) What is our vision for the future? And how do we get from A to B? The Jackson Hole Sustainable Destination Management Plan (SDMP) is a project funded by the Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Board (JHTTB), conducted by the team of George Washington University International Institute for Tourism Studies and Confluence Sustainability, and coordinated by the Riverwind Foundation. Similar to other communities that are travel and tourism destinations, Teton County, Wyoming has embarked on the development of a vision for the future of tourism and strategies and actions to strive toward that vision. Importantly, the development process includes intensive stakeholder and community engagement so that the SDMP is a plan driven by a balance of our community’s priorities and not any one stakeholder group or special interest. (for more on the SDMP, go to https://www.visitjacksonhole.com/ locals). While stakeholders and community members can agree on most of the positive and negative environmental, community and cultural, and economic impacts created by tourism in Jackson Hole and its spillover effects on neighboring communities, it’s a more complex challenge to get agreement on what strategies and actions will be implemented to address these impacts. However, our community is in good company with our peers. Here’s what some of our peers are up to in the United States:
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Green Matters in Jackson Hole
Vail, Colorado is using a Hotspot
Management System that supports an Attraction Preservation Plan: the HMS consists of inventorying, baselining and monitoring, measuring, mitigating, and rehabilitating tourism impacts on sites and attractions to protecting natural, historical, archaeological, religious, spiritual, and cultural sites. Their Plan is governed by a stewardship council and steering committee.
Zion National Park, Utah is
placing a daily cap on the number of hikers to Angels Landing through a permit system that reducing stresses on park personnel while improving visitor experience.
Durango, Colorado is coordinat-
ing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion working groups as part of a Sustainable & Responsible Tourism Task Force for destination planning and management.
Hawai’i charges a “Regenerative
Tourism Fee” that directly supports programs to regenerate Hawai’i’s resources, protect natural resources, and address un- or underfunded conservation objectives.
Muir Woods National Monument, California uses an inte grated approach of limited onsite parking, satellite parking and shuttle service, and reservation system for managing visitor levels, promoting trip planning, and reduce overcrowding. Here’s just a few destination management examples from overseas:
Chase Krumholz
Grand Teton National Park “The Park has actively managed visitation for decades. The distribution of hotel rooms, campsites, and backcountry permits are managed largely through reservation. The Park is utilizing the interagency Visitor Use Management framework as visitation rates and activities grow and change.”
Isle of Arran, Scotland provides
visitors the opportunity to donate one British Pound through accommodations and other businesses to fund mitigation of visitor impacts and support local sustainability, conservation, and historic preservation projects.
ty Investment Program to ensure young talent returns to the community through a trust supported by the tourism industry that provides monthly stipends to students attending a university and for two years after they return to the community.
Saalfelden Leogang, Austria
Republic of Palau is promoting
created a collaborative business district with voluntary contributions by businesses supporting sustainability and regeneration of natural, cultural, and historic sites and attractions.
Triglav National Park and Bled, Slovenia is creating a carrying capacity model based on environmental, social, and economic desired conditions to support destination management decisions.
Losini Islands, Croatia is implementing a Student & Communi-
a dedicated app for “demonstrating responsible and regenerative behavior during their stay.” Visitors earn points that can be cashed in for experiences that won’t be available to visitors who don’t take part, such as special tours and access to sensitive sites. These examples are a sampling from a much larger collection of destinations that are embarking on destination management plan development and implementation through private-public sector collaboration. While the development
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Chase Krumholz
of a sustainable destination management plan may seem overwhelming, our community has been planning and implementing destination management actions. Here’s a very short list of such actions:
Controlling visitor numbers
through limited parking overseen by park staff and volunteers at Laurence S. Rockefeller Preserve and String Lake
Business and organization sustainability education, training, and certification through the Sustainable Business Leaders and BEST programs
Outreach and education of visitors and residents about
environmentally and socially responsible behaviors as part of the JHTTB’s Stay Wild, Friends of the Bridger-Teton’s Recreate Responsibly, and Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation’s Being Wild Jackson Hole campaigns
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Green Matters in Jackson Hole
Building of wildlife crossings to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions
Using the Zero Landfill Initiative and Road to Zero Waste pro-
gram to reduce the waste generated and going to the landfill through improved recycling, reuse, and composting practices and infrastructure
Increasing the availability of electric vehicle charging stations and use of green power from renewable energy sources
Providing alternative forms of transportation through diver-
sification of START Bus routes and on-demand service, bike route networks, and bicycle shops A significant development in destination management in Teton County, Wyoming has been the JHTTB’s approval of $1 million to support the Friends of the Bridger-Teton and Bridger-Teton National Forest’s Ambassadors for Responsible Recreation program. This program aims to use multimedia visitor outreach and education, face to face welcom-
ing and modifying behavior of visitors, and a visitor donation system for long-term program funding to prevent and mitigate negative impacts of visitation in the Forest such as human waste and trash filling dispersed camping areas, the dramatic rise in abandoned campfires, increase occurrence of wildlife-human conflicts caused by improperly stored food and trash, and strain on local law enforcement, search and rescue, and emergency services. So, when we ask ourselves how to we go from our current situation to a better future, we need the courage to ask difficult and uncomfortable but necessary questions and allow our higher selves to answer these together, such as:
Let’s learn from our peers and come together to create a Sustainable Destination Management Plan that prioritizes environmental stewardship, lessens tourisms’ burden on our community and impacts on quality of life, and creates equity and economic resiliency and vitality for all. As the Global Sustainable Tourism Council said in 2012, “Teton County more than any other place in the world has the potential to become a leader as a sustainable destination” and that we have “the natural capital, human capacity, and financial resources to realize this potential.” Our challenge and opportunity is to go beyond slowing down the degradation of our environment and quality of life to regenerating these to our meet our ideals. We can and must do better.
Connor Burkesmith
What are our desired environmental, social, and economic conditions? What are we willing to give to get these desired conditions? Who are we including and excluding in determining these desired conditions? What’s the right balance of desired conditions considering both visitors and residents? What could be the unintended consequences of our ac-
tions to strive toward these desired conditions? How do we measure our progress of our actions in sustaining or restoring these desired conditions? Who is responsible for managing these actions and ensuring transparency and accountability to our community?
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A Climate Action Plan in Jackson Hole SANDY SHUPTRINE
Connor Burkesmith 14
Green Matters in Jackson Hole
Status as of April 2022 In accordance with the Town of Jackson (TOJ) April 6, 2020 Resolution; the TOJ/Teton County (TC) Joint Comprehensive Land Use Plan; and Town of Jackson’s budgetary goals for sustainability, our community’s aspirational goal is Carbon Neutrality by 2030. Out of it, a new non-profit, Jackson Hole Climate Action Collective (JHCAC) was formed and soon developed a collaborative arrangement for staffing with Legacy Works consultants. A draft Roadmap is the current work project of JHCAC, intended for review and input from stakeholders and the general public. The Jackson Hole Roadmap is a set of strategies and actions that could, and aspire to, guide decision makers in the Town of Jackson and Teton County, Wyoming. Consideration may be given to Teton Valley, Idaho, adjacent public lands, travel corridors, and gateway communities to achieve greenhouse gas reduction and its impact on the planet. It addresses both root causes of fossil fuel use and other contributors to environmental degradation. The Roadmap urges and incentivizes businesses, tourists, and residents, through voluntary efforts and public/private partnerships to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel use as well as promote sustainability in all vital sectors. Carbon neutrality may best be achieved by overall reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, including methane. Residents, businesses, and community leaders working together will need to continue shaping the valley’s development and preserving our natural environment and wildlife, while considering economic opportunity and quality of life, for current and future generations. Building on past achievements, the Roadmap urges future actions. It is divided into seven climate sectors. Transportation, water, energy use, energy supply, waste, visitation, and vegetation/forests. Possible prescriptions for each sector should include considerations of social equity, affordability, community health and safety, economic vitality, and recovery from natural disasters. The Roadmap is presently in draft form and may soon come to a public meeting near you for feedback and your ideas.
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The Sustainable Business Leaders Program Continues to Evolve CARLYANN EDWARDS
The decade and a half old program has been revamped to encompass local needs in addition to national and global standards. The Sustainable Business Leaders (SBL) program is Jackson Hole’s green business education and recognition program and membership-based association that has been managed by ISWR since 2007. While the program has been in existence for nearly 15 years, originally created to help educate organizations on recycling standards in Teton County, members are now actively engaged in the leadership and direction of the program, and the focus is shifted toward information and resources. Organizations are admitted into the program after scoring above a threshold of 50 percent or higher in a survey that evaluates compliance with criteria in the following areas:
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Planning & Management; Purchasing & Waste Management; Energy; Water; Transportation; Community Investment; Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion; Health & Safety; Marketing & Communications; Conservation & Resource Protection; Training, Certification & Recognition; and Innovation. The SBL team drew from research of other sustainability standards being promoted internationally as well as local sustainability priorities and programs to update the survey. The new survey expands on the information including practices and criteria on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Health and Safety; and Conservation and Resource Protection. These topics were identified as needed and desired in the SBL
program during the opportunity presented by the slowdown in the program due to COVID-19. This year was also the first that the program was expanded with a grant opportunity eligible to all SBL members. The inaugural grants were awarded to Wheel Wranglers, General Laundry, and Avant Delivery. ‘’We are excited to start the Sustainable Business Leaders Grants Program as part of the next generation of benefits to those businesses and organizations that have demonstrated a commitment to sustainability and contributing to our community’s efforts toward environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and economic vitality,” said Timothy O’Donoghue, Riverwind Foundation Executive Director.
The Sustainable Business Leaders program will continue to grow and change to meet the needs of its participants and the town’s Environmental and Social goals. For more information about or share ideas for the Sustainable Business Leaders Program, visit https://www. roadtozerowastejh.org/business-leader-program/, contact Program Manager, Carlyann Edwards at carlyann@riverwindfoundation.org, or Waste Diversion Outreach Coordinator, Becky Kiefer at ISWRoutreach@tetoncountywy.gov.
Chase Krumholz
Wheel Wranglers will use the funds to expand their “bikes-by-bikes” program, limiting the need for car-
bon-emitting vehicles to deliver bicycle rentals while Avant Delivery will build accessible drop-off stations for their reusable containers and lastly, General Laundry will use the funds to promote their “Baskets, Not Plastics!” campaign, providing baskets or hampers to those who would typically use single-use products when transporting their laundry.
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The Road to Zero Waste Stops at the Curb for Compost BECKY KIEFER
Summer is around the corner and the folks over at ISWR are gearing up for their “Curb to Compost” program for commercial food waste generators. The County is ready to begin food waste collection and composting as the new initiative to help move the needle on The Road to Zero Waste, a goal to divert 60% of waste from landfill by 2030. The former interim transfer station has been completely transformed into a commercial food waste composting facility. The compost area is fully equipped with elk and bear-proof fencing and a SPET funded, food de-packager. During the summer seasons of 2017, 2018, and 2019, ISWR, in partnership with Grand Teton National Park, Subaru, Westbank Sanitation, Signal Mountain Lodge, Grand Teton Lodge Company, WyoFarm Composting and several others operated a pilot food waste collection and composting program. This program was the “test run” to assess the viability of Teton County oper-
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ating its own food waste collection and composting program. The results were a resounding success and provided essential learning opportunities on how to set up the County’s program for the same successes. Between, bins, compostable bags vs. non compostable bags, truck specifics and schedules, ISWR found that food waste collection is complicated but 100% possible.
“ISWR found that food waste collection is complicated but 100% possible” The new Teton County Curb to Compost program is beginning with commercial food waste. Businesses can apply to be an “early adopter” of the County’s food waste composting program. The early adopting businesses will select their preferred bear-resistant bin size, pick-up schedule, be provided equipment and tools, training, and
end up in the final product. No one wants to lay compost on their garden just to find rubber bands or produce stickers.
The Teton County food waste program is relatively simple – food waste only. Stickers, rubber bands, and other non-organic materials need to be removed. These items are where composters see the most trouble. They do not break down in the composting process, and if they aren’t removed prior, they may
The one major food exception is shellfish. Exoskeletons of lobster and other shellfish are extremely resilient and oyster shells are as strong and brittle as glass. These items don’t break down even in an extremely hot composting pile. Things like napkins, coffee filters, and compostable cutlery are all on
Becky Kiefer
education on proper food waste composting practices. Composting food waste can be tricky if the participants aren’t trained correctly.
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the NO list as well. When a program accepts compostable cutlery and other materials, it opens the door to further contamination. Many products claim they are compostable but they are not. It can be difficult to tell which products are truly compostable as many products have ambiguous marketing that confuses the consumer. The County made the decision not to accept compostable cutlery or to-go items after speaking with other communities with food composting programs. Their advice was all similar – start small and only accept food waste. Some might be wondering, “why should I care?” Aside from reducing the amount of waste sent to land-
fill, organic waste in landfills generate methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Additionally, composting these wastes create a product that can be used to help improve soil, grow the next generation of crops, and improve water quality. Separating our food waste is a win-win. ISWR is looking ahead towards creating a residential compost program, but in the meantime, residents can currently haul their food waste to the Teton County Compost Facility located at 5400 S. HWY 89. To become an early adopter or find out more information on residential food waste composting options, email rkiefer@tetoncountywy.gov.
Becky Kiefer
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Hidden Hollow Achieves BEST Certification Hidden Hollow, LLC
economic vitality. “We are committed to protect and preserve this special place we call home next to the Elk Refuge,” said Debra Suske, Hidden Hollow’s Property Manager. “Our sustainability efforts are shared with our residents as they are engaged in the process such as achieving a 40% diversion rate with our robust recycling program.” Hidden Hollow Apartments has achieved the Business Emerald Sustainability Tier (BEST) level of sustainability performance from the Riverwind Foundation, originator of the BEST Program. The standards in the BEST program are comparable to the world’s most rigorous and comprehensive environmental, community, and economic sustainability criteria. Hidden Hollow joins a growing group of businesses and organizations to achieve this third-party sustainability certification. The BEST program was created to provide an opportunity and platform for those Sustainable Business Leaders (formerly RRR Business Leaders) that want to elevate their sustainability practices to higher levels of environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and
“Hidden Hollow is doing remarkable work to minimize its energy use and carbon emissions” said Tim O’Donoghue, Executive Director of the Riverwind Foundation. “Hidden Hollow sources their energy from one of the largest geothermal systems in the valley and participates in Lower Valley Energy’s Green Power program. Their contribution of workforce and affordable housing addresses one of our community’s greatest sustainability challenges.” More information on Hidden Hollow’s sustainability efforts can be found at: https://hiddenhollowjackson.com/
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Keep It Whole. Wisdom Harmony 0 Waste Local Education
Treasure wildlife, wildlands, and community. Embrace mind-heart-body-spirit balance in oneself and for ecosystem health. Refuse products that create waste and pollution. Reduce consumption - Recycle - Reuse.
Connect and be kind to this special place. Share ideas for environmental, social, and economic prosperity.
Think We. The Jackson Hole Sustainability Code of Conduct www.RiverWindFoundation.org
