Sunday, June 6

4 p.m. ’til dusk

Q Roadhouse

Food — Drink — Music

6 p.m. Announcement of 2010 Grant Recipients

Please RSVP via PaperPost

Please contact Annie Jack at annie.jack@ymail.com or 307-203-2454 with any questions.

We hope to see you there!

Valley Advocates for Responsible Development presentation at Teton County Library

VARD will present information on their “Reshaping Development Patterns” project today, Wednesday, June 2, at 6 p.m. at the Teton County Library.

Vertical Harvest at Q Roadhouse

Slow Food in the Tetons will host a fundraiser for their “Vertival Harvest” project this Thursday, June 3, at Q Roadhouse. They will offer 2 for 1 drinks from 8 – 9 p.m. and local band Outlaw Picnic will play.

TreeFight Unveils Battle Plan

Tree Fight will unveil their summer battle plans at Teton Thai at 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 3. Find out where they’re headed within the BTNF to protect trees and sign up for one of their Sunday missions.

180 South Benefits Teton Boulder Project

Teton Boulder Project will be the recipient of funds raised during the 180 South film screening at the Center for the Arts this Friday, June 4. Pre-party begins at 6 p.m. and the screening will be at 8. Tickets are $20 and are available at the Center for the Arts box office or online. Get your tickets early as this event is anticipated to sell out.

Summit on the Snake on Sunday

Snake River Fund will host Summit on the Snake from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 5, at Teton Science Schools’ Jackson Campus. It’s billed as a “day-long watershed education conference…”

Saturday is 1% Day at Picas

Picas will make Saturday, June 5, “1% for the Tetons Day” at their Jackson restaurant. 15% of all the day’s earnings will be donated to 1% for the Tetons. We strongly encourage you to come out and help support 1% for the Tetons, our Grant Finalists and, of course, Picas.

2nd Annual 1% for the Tetons Member Celebration Sunday, June 6

Last but not least, 1% for the Tetons will host our 2nd Annual Member Celebration from 4 p.m. until dusk at the Q Roadhouse. All 1% for the Tetons Members are invited and encouraged to come.

This event replaces the party that was previously planned party to close out the One28 campaign on Saturday. Instead, we will celebrate the end of One28 on Sunday by honoring all the Grant Finalists, announcing the 2010 Grant Recipients, and thanking our roster of Members, Friends and Liaisons. If you have any questions about the event, please contact Annie Jack at annie.jack@ymail.com or 307-203-2454.

In 2010 we are proposing to significantly expand the scope of the project. By increasing our educational outreach and previously successful non-lead ammunition give-away program, we will create a substantial movement towards a receptive switch away from traditional toxic lead ammunition by hunters. We will continue to track the eagles with the use of satellite transmitters to show that those being exposed to lead in Jackson Hole disperse throughout the continent, making this issue of national concern.  The clear link between lead ammunition and lead poisoning in wildlife has been established, the resolution is understood but implementing policy change and gaining majority support remain the challenge.

Project Description and Background:

A ballistic gel shot of a lead bullet shows multiple fragments.

Craighead Beringia South studies, based from our Kelly, Wyoming, wildlife research institute, have linked spent lead rifle ammunition to unnaturally high lead exposure in bald eagles, grizzly bears, golden eagles, and ravens in the “pristine” Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Based on our research, we know that both eagles and ravens feeding on gutpiles in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem during the hunting season have annual home ranges that extend all the way from southern California to Canada, creating a need for a nation-wide, tangible solution. Several avenues of action exist to accomplish this.

Copper and metal-gilding ammunition are commonly available, viable alternatives present throughout the world. Mandating non-lead ammunition nationwide would significantly curtail lead ammunition use, but such action would also be a cause of animosity between hunters, conservation groups, and government agencies. The other option is a voluntary effort encouraged by substantial education about health effects to both wildlife and humans with the intent of growing hunter support over a period of time to mitigate the use of lead ammunition. Craighead Beringia South proposes a combination of the two approaches to create an action-oriented solution that will result in relatively quick change with little opposition.

A ballistic gel shot of a copper bullet shows no fragments.

An easy solution exists to lead ammunition that exhibits better performance than its poisoning counterpart. While legislation against the use of lead-based ammunition may appear to be the best solution, the compliance with laws that hunters are opposed to will not be sufficient to curtail the impacts of this ecological poison. We are implementing a voluntary lead-reduction program based in hunter education before legislation is introduced to gather further support from the participating community and ensure a long-term, successful solution. The collection of more data on the positive effects to wildlife of switching to alternative ammunition will bring additional awareness and support of the program as well as public acceptance moving towards legislative action.

To achieve our long-term goal of removing lead rifle ammunition as a source of lead toxicity throughout the nation, the implementation of regulation must happen at a local level first with sufficient support from the hunting community as well as the regulatory organizations. By building this cooperation in a large enough manor we can effectively remove the threat of lead poisoning of our wildlife, wildlands, and homes.  Though the concept of providing ammunition to hunters to help wildlife seems paradoxical, our limited efforts in 2009 began to show the promise of this technique by reducing lead toxicity in scavenging birds by a fourth.  Given these very promising results, we remain confident that increasing our education, outreach, and monitoring efforts will be a significant step towards the ultimate goal of eliminating lead rifle ammunition from large game hunting.

The complex winter landscapes of the Western Tetons are world a renowned backcountry ski destination.

The Winter Wilderness Stewardship Project is an innovative community based program that addresses the impacts of winter recreation on the Jedediah Smith and Winiger Hole Wilderness Areas.

In preparation for the 50th Anniversary of the 1964 Wilderness Act, the United States Forest Service and the National Forest Foundation developed the Wilderness Stewardship Challenge that measured the current condition of Wilderness Areas.

In 2002, this assessment was applied nationally. Our local Jedediah Smith and Winegar Hole Wilderness Areas did not score well. The Jedediah Smith Wilderness scored a mere 66% and the Winegar Hole a dismal 58%. These poor ratings can be contributed to an explosion of winter recreation in the Teton region as well as corresponding lack of data and management.

The Jedediah Smith Wilderness or “The Jed”, is located between Grand Teton National Park and the Idaho/Wyoming border. The Jed includes the Crest of the Teton Range as well as most of its Western Slope. The Jed is home to a variety of wildlife including black bears, grizzly bears, wolverines, mountain lions, wolves, bighorn sheep, deer, moose, and elk. With abundant snowfall and a diversity of terrain, the Jed is also a nationally renowned destination for backcountry snowsports enthusiasts.

To the north and adjacent to Yellowstone National Park’s southern boundary, the smaller Winegar Hole Wilderness is managed as a trail-less area to protect quality mid-elevation grizzly bear habitat.

Within the last decade the popularity of backcountry skiing and snowboarding in the Teton Range has grown dramatically. These healthy and wilderness-compatible activities are a growing segment of our local winter economy. However, impacts to wilderness character and wildlife do exist. The western side of the Tetons is also popular with snowmobilers and unfortunately wilderness trespass too common.

Motorized intrusion by snowmobile trespass is a common occurrence.

In order to manage for winter wilderness values, including opportunities for solitude and primitive recreation, it is vital to establish baseline data on current winter recreation use and motorized intrusions. This baseline data can then be used to create viable winter specific management strategies and actions.

In order to improve local stewardship of the Jedediah Smith and Winegar Hole Wilderness Areas the Winter Wilderness Stewardship Project will:

1. Develop and implement a winter monitoring program.
2. Analyze collected winter recreation data to establish directions and management actions to protect opportunities for solitude or primitive and unconfined recreation.
3. Develop and implement a winter wilderness education plan.
4. Work with local outfitters to develop or improve winter operating plans that promote wilderness values.
5. Utilize collected data and a collaborative process to make management recommendations to Targhee National Forest.

With support from 1% for the Tetons, the National Forest Foundation, Winter Wildlands Alliance, The Murie Center, and Lighthawk, the Winter Wilderness Stewardship Project will work closely with Targhee National Forest and the local backcountry snowsports community, to ensure the integrity of the Jedediah Smith and Wineger Hole Wilderness Areas are protected.

"The Jed" offers world class backcountry skiing.

The Teton backcountry ski and snowboard community is an established national leader in the advancement of our sport. It is only fitting that we also lead the way in how to protect the wild landscape in which we practice our craft. The Winter Wilderness Stewardship Project will serve as a national model to demonstrate how local communities, ecosystems, and economies can benefit from winter specific wilderness stewardship.

Learn more: watch a 5-minute presentation and download the project application on the project page.

Part of the recent jump in donations has been from people sending in checks (rather than donating by credit card through the website). To facilitate this process, we’ve put together a “donate by mail” form for prospective donors, which you can download by clicking here.

As we enter our “Big Push in the Closing Days” phase, many people have asked me what they can do to help us hit our goal of $300,000. Here’s my response:

One28 boils down to a numbers game – the more people we can contact, the better our chances of reaching our goal. To that end, you can do three things to help out:

1. Spread the word. Tell your friends. Phone them. E-mail them with the attached form. Direct them to our website. Do whatever strikes you to let people know about 1% for the Tetons and our One28 effort.
2. Urge those folks to donate.
3. Let me ask them for you. Tell me about any businesses and/or individuals you think might be interested in making a donation. It doesn’t matter how big or small – to date, we’ve received donations ranging from $5 to the tens of thousands. If you’d like, I’ll make the ask; if not, I’ll help you as you see fit. But what matters is making the ask — at the end of the day, successful fundraising depends on asking people directly. (To that end, you can also download a 1% for the Tetons Membership Application here.)

Thanks so much for all your help to date, and thanks in advance for your help over the remaining 11 days of One28.

Download the One28 donation form.

Download the 2010 One28 Grant Finalists overview.

Download the 2010 1% for the Tetons Membership Application.

We all know that the lands surrounding the Teton Range are some of the most beautiful and unique pieces of ground on earth.  We also know that the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem is one of the most important relatively intact temperate ecosystems remaining in the world, and the Teton region makes up an integral part of Greater Yellowstone.

Teton Valley a top conservation priority
But, did you know that Teton County, Idaho, was ranked the #1 conservation priority in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem?  It’s true.  In 2001, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Greater Yellowstone Coalition commissioned a study of 42 conservation “mega-sites” in Greater Yellowstone, and then prioritized them on the basis of the irreplaceable qualities of the ecosystem and the threat posed by human development.

Why didn’t Jackson and Teton County, Wyoming, make the top of that list instead of Teton Valley?  When comparing the Teton counties, one major difference is that the Wyoming county is 97% public land while the Idaho county is 67% privately owned.  With so much sensitive land open for development, land use practices in Teton Valley have significant potential to cause irreparable harm to the regional ecosystem.

In the decade since the conservation priorities study was completed, over 6,000 new residential lots have been created in Teton Valley by subdividing nearly 20,000 acres of critical wildlife habitat, migration corridors, nesting grounds, staging areas and meaningful open space.  To put that number in perspective, today there are over 7,000 empty but entitled subdivision lots in a county with around 8,000 residents.  75% of our lots have not been built on, not to mention the untold number of spec homes that continue to stand empty.  Absorption estimates give the county a 70 – 300 year supply of residential lots, while a 7-year supply is considered healthy.

Looking for environmental and economic solutions
Valley Advocates for Responsible Development (VARD) has teamed up with the Sonoran Institute and Lincoln Institute of Land Policy to seek out solutions to the looming economic and environmental disaster that is represented by the inventory of subdivisions on the ground in Teton County, Idaho, today.  In the first phases of the Reshaping Development Patterns project, VARD and our partners have identified a range of potential options that are mutually beneficial for property owners, taxpayers and the regional ecosystem.

The current phase of the project is aimed at putting conservation-based solutions to the subdivision problem in Teton Valley into practice.  In order to move from theory to reality, VARD is taking a three-pronged approach:

1. As a resource for local government, VARD is working to help the county implement a predictable and streamlined re-approval process for what we call “zombie subdivisions” that want to leave the world of the undead.  Fast-tracking the process for entitled subdivisions to undergo a redesign that creates measurable community and sustainability benefits will help reduce the barriers to increased sustainability.
2. Through conversation and collaboration with local and regional lenders, it has become apparent to VARD that a series of detailed economic studies and analyses are a pre-requisite for developers seeking lender approval to redesign their projects.  In order to reduce the barriers to financing sustainable yet non-traditional development proposals, VARD and our partners are working to commission the baseline studies that the lenders require to move forward.
3. Without a real-life example to point to, changing the development status quo might well be an impossible task.  Therefore, VARD is in the process of working with local developers who have volunteered to act as guinea pigs in the redesign process.

As VARD’s three-pronged push for sustainability moves forward, the key to making widespread changes is tied to messaging.  By investing the time and energy to disseminate the results throughout the region, VARD expects that countless more projects will follow suit.  The threat to the regional ecosystem in Teton Valley right now is extraordinary which is what led VARD to become involved in this innovative multi-disciplinary project.  Yet, the fact that rural communities throughout the intermountain West face the same problems with zombie subdivisions is what led Sonoran and Lincoln to tackle the issue.  We hope that you will join us in this struggle by providing support through 1% for the Tetons.

Valley Advocates for Responsible Development
355 North Main Street
PO Box 1164
Driggs, ID 83422
208-354-1707
www.tetonvalleyadvocates.org

Learn more about the Reshaping Development Patterns project at the project page, where you can watch a 5-minute video and download the project application.

WWA believes that we need effective communication tools to accomplish the goal of protecting this place. WWA is eager to provide simple, “tried & true” strategies for using our natural resources lightly. We know that successful communication can influence minds and attitudes. Living and Playing in Wild Country will inspire choices that are compatible with long term sustainability.

Wyoming Wilderness Association is creating a simple Guide and Website that will support and encourage citizen participation and will give the public a shared vocabulary for involvement with this process. It will also serve to educate visitors and locals in a general way about wild lands in the region and about best practices for living compatibly with wildlife.

We can address confusions around natural resource management. Living and Playing in Wild Country will throw light onto the baffling variety of different management regimes and public land classifications. Another objective of the project is to cut through controversy and focus on the fundamentals of living in this unique place.

As we all know, Jackson Hole is home to some of the nation’s most abundant wildlife and to some of its largest public wilderness lands. Everyone who lives in or visits this region can share responsibility to protect these lands. The Guide is intended to help people understand their roles in protecting the unique qualities of this wild, vulnerable landscape.

WWA plans to distribute the Guide to a diverse audience, including real estate offices, hotel lobbies, airports, civic groups, schools, chamber of commerce packets etc.  We intend for the Guide to become a popular source for simple, friendly and non-partisan education and actions for living harmoniously with nature in the region. The accompanying website will give WWA a place to track effectiveness, monitoring people’s use of the site as they record their ‘wild country’ stories and experiences.

Learn more about the Living and Playing in Wild Country project at the project page, where you can watch a 5-minute video and download the project application.

Dr. Bernie Krause of Wild Sanctuary in Grand Teton National Park.

The natural soundscape of the Tetons is its unique voice. No other place on earth sounds quite like the various habitats that make up those of the Tetons. The biological soundscapes within these Teton biomes feature powerful narratives that we are just beginning to understand. Help us create a crucial soundscape of Jackson Hole’s wild nature and wildlife by donating to this project at the 1% for the Tetons website.

The project will include calibrated base-line recorded samples of biophonies (natural soundscapes) throughout the Tetons watershed and a breakdown of the data for analysis and further study. As evidence of the potential scientific benefit of this effort, a soundscape recorded recently at a pond just a dozen miles from the Murie Center in Moose, Wyoming may have included a Wyoming toad presumed to be extinct in the wild. If it is not a Wyoming toad, it may be a Canadian toad 300 miles south of its southern most range, or it could be a recording of a new species of toad. You can hear a recording of the toad here. The toad enters the soundscape seven seconds into the recording.

Dr. Krause has traveled worldwide recording and archiving the sounds of creatures and environments large and small. In 2006, under the auspices of The Murie Center, he led three teams to capture the first natural soundscape examples ever recorded in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Dr. Krause was a key figure in implementing natural soundscapes as a resource for the National Park Service and has authored the educational manual for the NPS that resulted in his current book/CD, Wild Soundscapes: Discovering the Voice of Natural World (Wilderness Press, 2002).

For more information about soundscapes, contact Dr. Bernie Krause of Wild Sanctuary at chirp@wildsanctuary.com or visit www.wildsanctuary.com.

Learn more about the Soundscapes of the Tetons project at the project page, where you can watch a 5-minute video and download the project application.

As a way of saying thank you, the Bentwood Inn — a member of 1% for the Tetons and one of Jackson Hole’s nicest bed-and-breakfasts — has donated 19 gift certificates to us, one for each of the 19 Finalists.

Each certificate is good for a one-night stay for one or two people at the Bentwood Inn, good for any off-season night during the coming year.  The retail value of each is $225.

Here’s what Bentwood owner and 1% member Keith Sproule had to say about the gift:

“We’re offering the Gift Certificates to express our thanks for the work the Finalists have put into their applications, as well as to show that our appreciation extends beyond dollars.  We know the Bentwood’s guests reach our door because of the beauty of the valley, and we’d like to open our doors to those who are working to sustain that beauty as well.

“We can make the Gift Certificates flexible, so that they can be traded or gifted by the recipient finalist organizations. We’ll have to tailor the use dates for the shoulder season, but perhaps that’s when folks will actually be able to use them.”

We couldn’t express our appreciation any better.