Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance

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February 2009 Alliance Action

1) Intriguing Alliance events fill month of February

To help kick off our 30th year of partnering for a wild and beautiful valley, you’re invited to join us for several educational forums and social gatherings this month. Visit www.jhalliance.org/events.htm for the most updated info.

Thursday, Feb. 5: Focus on Our Forest
6 to 9 p.m., Teton County Library, Ordway Auditorium, 125 Virginian Lane, free
Climate change, increased use and a 20-year-old forest plan make each management decision critical to the health of the Bridger-Teton. Join the Alliance and Forest Service officials on Feb. 5 to find out how energy development, recreation, disease and other factors are affecting our public lands. And find out how you can help protect your forest. For details on the forum, visit www.jhalliance.org/Library/PressReleases/2009/BTNFforumPR.2-09.pdf.

Friday, Feb. 13: Road Ecology in the Rockies -- How Can We Reduce Roadkill?
6 to 7 p.m., Conservation Alliance conference room, 685 S. Cache St., free
As part of our “Next Steps -- Exploring Solutions for Jackson Hole” community planning speaker series, Lance Craighead of the Craighead Environmental Research Institute will present what he’s learned from a nine-year study of Interstate 90 in Montana. He’ll include lessons learned from Bozeman Pass, Banff, Togwotee Pass and Europe. Key questions include: What are some effective measures to keep wildlife from being killed on highways? How can citizens and local groups help guide mitigation measures and highway design? The answers will become increasingly critical as more road expansions are considered in Teton County, including the Brown connector and the Hoback Highway reconstruction (see item #5 below). Pizza and beverages will be served.

Sunday, Feb. 15: A Conservation Scrapbook
Wine and hors d’oeuvres reception: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Center for the Arts theater lobby
Presentation: 7:30 p.m., Center for the Arts theater, two blocks south of Town Square, on Cache
Charlie and Lance Craighead will share stories and slides from the early careers of wildlife advocates Frank and John Craighead. Best known for groundbreaking research on grizzlies and their work on the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the brothers’ contributions as wildlife biologists, naturalists and conservationists are unmatched. This benefit for the Alliance and the Craighead Environmental Research Institute is your chance to experience a special part of Jackson Hole's past, while ensuring its future. For more information, please visit www.jhalliance.org/Library/PressReleases/2009/ConsvScrapPR.2-09.pdf, or contact Lisa Rullman Vogelheim at (307) 733-9417 or Lisa@jhalliance.org.

Wednesday, Feb. 18: Info Lunch on Growth and the Comprehensive Plan
Noon to 1 p.m., Conservation Alliance conference room, 685 S. Cache St., free
Our Feb. 18 info lunch will be devoted to growth issues and the ongoing Comp Plan update (see item #4 below). Bring questions and a bag lunch; we’ll provide drinks and snacks.

Thursday, Feb. 26, and Friday, Feb. 27: Implementation Strategies for Making Growth Pay Its Way
Thursday, Feb. 26: Presentation with Q&A: 7 to 8 p.m., Conservation Alliance conference room, 685 S. Cache, free
Friday, Feb. 27: Presentation and workshop: 10 a.m. to noon, County commissioners chambers, 200 S. Willow, free
Our Next Steps speaker series concludes with two presentations by Gabe Preston, a fiscal impact analyst with RPI Consulting, based in Durango, Colo. Preston will address the following question: If Jackson Hole wants to have future development pay its fair share of the cost of maintaining and expanding local government services and facilities, what needs to happen? Funded in part by The Community Foundation of Jackson Hole, the Next Steps series is intended to give our community the benefit of lessons learned by other communities that have faced similar issues.

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2) North, West town gateways face drastic change Feb. 2

The Jackson Town Council’s second round of reviews of two major gateway developments, one on North Cache and the other near the intersection of Broadway and Hwy. 22, were rescheduled from Jan. 20 to Monday, Feb. 2, 6 p.m., Council chambers, 150 E. Pearl. The approval of either or both of these projects would trigger significant changes to prominent areas of our community, and we question the approval of such large, precedent-setting upzones during the ongoing comprehensive planning process.

For links to our comments on gateway development and these two proposals, please visit www.jhalliance.org/library.htm#comments.

North Cache Planned Mixed-Use Development -- On Dec.15, town councilors moved to continue this application for a 45,492-square-foot PMD project in the 300 block of North Cache. Town planning staff is recommending denial of the project. After voicing major concerns with the project’s design on Nov. 19, the Jackson Planning Commission inexplicably voted 4-1 to recommend approval. Throughout this process, the Conservation Alliance has questioned the type and scale of this project, particularly given its prominence along a main corridor, its proximity to a key community gateway and its inadequate provision of workforce housing units. Jackson’s planned mixed-use development regulations need to be modified to remedy these concerns (see item #3 below). (UPDATE: On Feb. 2, town councilors voted 3-2 to approve this development.)

Housing at “Y” Intersection/Sandhill Ridge Planned Unit Development -- On Dec.1, town councilors continued the application for a 92-unit residential development close to the northeast corner of the Broadway-Hwy. 22 intersection. This past fall, town planning commissioners recommended denial of the project. Our concerns include the bulk and scale of the proposed development; increased traffic at an already strapped intersection; inadequate community benefit given the development’s size; potential harm to mule deer, given the project’s location in critical winter range; and its effect on Jackson’s character, since approval would set a precedent for over development at a prominent community gateway. (UPDATE: On Feb. 2, town councilors decided to continue discussion about this project till March (probably March 2), to give the developer more time to address concerns. We'll let you know when a date is set.)

3) Planned mixed-use development tool leads list of town workshops

In addition to the items above, the Conservation Alliance continues to keep an eye on town development and redevelopment issues, including the following workshops set for February. Here’s a brief roundup; however, please note that all meetings are subject to change. Call the Town of Jackson at (307) 734-3993 for confirmation, or contact Alliance community planning director Kristy Bruner at Kristy@jhalliance.org or (307) 733-9417.

PLANNED MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP -- Jackson Town Council, Feb. 2, 3 to 5 p.m. (PMD discussion expected to start around 4:15 p.m.), Council chambers, 150 E. Pearl. On Jan. 8, the Conservation Alliance again formally asked the Town Council to place a moratorium on the use of the flawed PMD tool because it facilitates large-scale developments that the community has repeatedly said they don’t want built in Jackson. (See our letter at www.jhalliance.org/Library/Comments/2009/PMDmoratoriumreq.1-8-09.pdf.) On Feb.2, councilors are expected to discuss the tool and give town planning staff directions for modifying the PMD regulations.

WORKFORCE HOUSING WORKSHOP -- Jackson Town Council, Feb. 9, 3 to 5 p.m., Council chambers, 150 E. Pearl. On Feb. 9, councilors are scheduled to have a broad discussion on workforce housing issues, including recently proposed text amendments to increase mitigation requirements for both employee and affordable housing. Pending the outcome of this discussion, councilors may consider the amendments at their Feb.17 meeting. For background information about affordable housing issues, visit www.jhalliance.org/Library/Alerts/AffordableHousing.2-08.pdf. For specific questions on the amendments currently proposed, please contact Kristy Bruner at (307) 733-9417 or Kristy@jhalliance.org. (UPDATE: The workforce housing discussion has been continued to Feb. 23, 3 to 5 p.m., same location.)

TOWN WORKSHOP -- Jackson Town Council, Feb. 17, 3 to 5 p.m., Council chambers, 150 E. Pearl. Councilors plan to discuss a number of issues on Feb. 17, including abandoned construction sites, the Karns Meadow site plan, underground parking standards and the Home Ranch project. A pre-application for yet another planned mixed-use development is also on the agenda.

TOWN WORKSHOP -- Jackson Town Council, Feb. 23, 3 to 5 p.m., Council chambers, 150 E. Pearl. A number of town-related planning issues are on deck for this Feb. 23 workshop, including energy mitigation, construction staging and parking structure land use.

Other town meetings this month include the following:

The Jackson Planning Commission has its regularly scheduled meetings on Feb. 4 and 18, 5:30 p.m., Council chambers, 150 E. Pearl. On Feb. 4, two projects proposing to use by-right zoning standards are scheduled for review, but details regarding these and the Feb. 18 agenda aren’t yet available. We’ll keep you posted.

In addition to the Feb. 2 meeting outlined in item #2 above, the Jackson Town Council has another regular meeting set for Feb. 17, 6 p.m., Council chambers, 150 E. Pearl. Councilors are expected to consider a new regulation that would limit the size of some single-family homes in town. (In January, the Jackson Planning Commission voted 4-1 to support a land-development regulation that would limit home sizes in neighborhood conservation districts to about 3,000 square feet on a typical 7,500-square-foot lot.) Workforce housing regulations may also be discussed, pending the results of the Feb. 9 workshop described above.

4) Comprehensive Plan second draft now expected in March

At the Jan. 5 joint information meeting, the town and county planning directors gave electeds an overview of the Comp Plan update process. According to the directors, in January, local planners submitted a revised draft to Clarion Associates (the Comp Plan consultant) for review. Prior to public release of the next draft in its entirety, the directors said it will be reviewed by Clarion, the Comp Plan Technical Advisory Group and the Stakeholder Advisory Group. (The Conservation Alliance is a member of the stakeholder group.) Pending the outcome of this review process, the public may expect to see the complete revised draft sometime in March, and will have only four weeks to respond.

Because it appears the timeframe for public comment will be too short, and may overlap with spring break, when many valley residents are out of town, the Conservation Alliance will likely ask for a longer comment period. We also plan to hold weekly open houses during the public comment period -- stay tuned for details. Meanwhile, please consider attending our Feb. 13 forum on traffic and roadside ecology, our Feb. 18 info lunch on growth and the Comp Plan, and our Feb. 26 forums on the fiscal impacts of growth -- all described in item #1 above. Background information on the Comp Plan update is available at www.jhalliance.org/issuescompplan.htm.

5) Jackson-to-Hoback highway reconstruction comments sought

On Jan. 7, the “Jackson South” draft environmental impact statement for the seven-mile section of Hwy. 26/89/189/191 from southern South Park Loop Road to Hoback Junction was released. The two disappointing action alternatives in the DEIS both call for building five lanes of road, and differ only in a one-mile section. Both alternatives cause concerns regarding wildlife, habitat connectivity and community character. Six miles of five-lane road will fragment habitat and increase hazards for animals (not to mention motorists) moving through the valley, although the DEIS does note the possibility of building a wildlife underpass to help mitigate these problems. The Jackson South DEIS is available online at http://dot.state.wy.us/Default.jsp?sCode=jsdei.

The Wyoming Department of Transportation has scheduled a public hearing on the DEIS for Feb. 26, 5 to 7 p.m. at Jackson Hole High School. Attendees can gather more information from maps and WYDOT staff, and will also be able to give comments at that time. You may also submit written comments by March 9 via email at Hobackcomments@dot.state.wy.us or by mail to: Attn.: Tim Stark, Environmental Services Engineer, 5300 Bishop Blvd., Cheyenne, WY 82009-3340. (UPDATE: Also on Feb. 26, WYDOT officials will review the DEIS with the Teton Board of County Commissioners from 2 to 4 p.m., County chambers, 200 S. Willow. You are encouraged to attend.)

From the time this project was first proposed many years ago, the Conservation Alliance has strongly opposed making the highway five lanes wide, given the impacts it would have on wildlife and community character. (We have supported a modified three-lane alternative.) As a result, we are very dissatisfied with the alternatives presented in this DEIS. Our public comments will be available at www.jhalliance.org/library.htm#comments by March 2.

In other county news, the Teton Board of County Commissioners is expected to finally vote on the environmental assessments text amendment during its Feb. 17 meeting, 9 a.m., County chambers, 200 S. Willow. The subject of many previous discussions, this amendment to the land development regulations would require the county to hire the consultants who conduct environmental assessments on properties. (Developers would still pay for the required studies.) To avert potential conflicts of interest, the Conservation Alliance strongly supports this change in policy for all types of development proposals. For our additional comments, please see www.jhalliance.org/Library/Comments/EAcomments.11-08.pdf. (UPDATE: The county commissioners passed this amendment at the Feb. 17 meeting.)

6) Off-highway-vehicle travel plan leads Bridger-Teton news

NORTH ZONE OHV SUMMER TRAVEL PLAN FINALIZED -- After years of intensive work with the public, Bridger-Teton officials have finalized a plan to manage motorized travel on more than 255,000 acres of the northern part of the forest. The plan restricts motorized vehicles to designated trails and roads, thus reducing their effect on wildlife and habitat, and providing a safer and better trail system for all recreational users. Details on the final plan are expected to be available shortly at www.fs.fed.us/r4/btnf/projects/travelrevision/index/shtml. You can also pick them up at a public informational meeting scheduled for Friday, Feb. 6, 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Forest Service log cabin at 340 N. Cache, just north of the Bridger-Teton supervisor’s office.

LEGISLATION TO PROTECT WYOMING RANGE, SNAKE HEADWATERS PROGRESSES -- As promised, one of the first actions in 2009 in the U.S. Senate was reintroduction of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act (renumbered as S. 22), which includes federal legislation to protect the Wyoming Range of the Bridger-Teton and portions of the Snake River system. On Jan. 15, senators voted 73-21 to pass the act, which now goes to the House of Representatives. (UPDATE: Representatives are not expected to vote on the measure until after Congress returns on Feb. 23 from their Presidents' Day break.)

The Omnibus Act combines about 160 separate bills protecting public lands. If it passes the House unscathed, the act will protect more than 1,000 miles of rivers and add two million acres of public land to the Wilderness Preservation System. It also prohibits new leases for energy exploration and development on the Wyoming Range, and allows conservation organizations and others to buy existing leases and keep the land safe from the ill effects of oil and gas drilling. Passage of the Omnibus Act would also protect about 400 miles of Snake River headwaters in northwest Wyoming from threats such as water quality degradation and dam building by including them in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. The vote in the House should occur soon. An informative article on the Omnibus Act from the Jan. 16 Casper Star-Tribune is available at:
www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2009/01/16/news/wyoming/8940297472c224cf8725754000033652.txt

Our thanks go out to everyone who has supported these campaigns. Wyoming's U.S. Senators Mike Enzi and John Barrasso both worked for this legislation and also deserve thanks. Here's their contact information:

U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi, 379 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20510
(202) 224-3424, Email via: http://enzi.senate.gov/public

U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, 307 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20510
(202) 224-6441, Email via: http://barrasso.senate.gov/public

Wyoming's new U.S. Rep. Cynthia Lummis has stated that she opposes it. Your comments may help her reconsider:

U.S. Rep. Cynthia Lummis, 1004 Longworth HOB, Washington, D.C., 20515
(202) 225-2311, Email via: https://forms.house.gov/lummis/contact-form.shtml

MORE ON THE WYOMING RANGE AND ENERGY DEVELOPMENT -- Bridger-Teton officials continue to work on a supplemental analysis of 44,720 acres on the Wyoming Range that were suspended from leasing in 2006, following a ruling that an earlier NEPA analysis didn’t adequately consider impacts to wildlife and the environment. The new draft supplemental environmental impact statement is expected to be released sometime this month. We’ll keep you posted on how you can comment.

The Bridger-Teton also recently announced that its analysis of the Eagle Prospect and Noble Basin Master Development Plan (aka Hoback Wells) is now due out in March. This project in the Hoback Basin initially included just three test wells, but further study was required after Plains Exploration and Production Company switched to a master plan with the potential for 136 wells. The draft environmental impact statement for the original project generated about 19,000 public comments; almost all opposed it. Public review and comment on the new DEIS will be accepted after its release. Stay tuned for updates. Background information on regional energy development issues is available at www.jhalliance.org/Library/Alerts/EnergyDevUpdate.Fall08.pdf.

BRIDGER-TETON MANAGEMENT PLAN REVISION UPDATE -- Stymied by legal wrangling over federal rules governing revisions of forest management plans, Bridger-Teton officials have decided to adapt by making amendments to the 20-year-old plan under which our forest is currently operating. According to forest plan team leader Rick Fox, the B-T will publish an evaluation of the forest this spring, and also initiate scoping on some proposed actions for amending its 1990 Plan Standards and Guidelines. The lack of an up-to-date comprehensive management plan leaves the forest vulnerable to piecemeal changes that can add up to major threats to its health. But Fox promises that any amendments will proceed only with full public involvement. “We are very interested in hearing the community’s concerns about planning and our planning process,” he says. To this end, Fox and other B-T staffers will join the Conservation Alliance in a public forum on forest management on Feb. 5, 6 to 9 p.m. at the Teton County Library auditorium. Visit www.jhalliance.org/Library/PressReleases/2009/BTNFforumPR.2-09.pdf for details.

7) Greater Yellowstone gets reprieve from midnight regulations

The day after the Jan. 20th inauguration, the incoming Obama administration took immediate steps to halt implementation of last-minute rules and regulations made by the outgoing Bush administration. All changes proposed that had not been published in the Federal Register are now being re-evaluated, and agencies have been asked to wait 60 days to implement new changes for items already published. Some of the most significant of these are: wolf delisting (see item #8 below); changes to the Endangered Species Act eliminating independent evaluation of projects; and Bureau of Land Management plans to expand oil shale development in Wyoming Utah, and Colorado. The Conservation Alliance will closely follow these efforts and keep you updated.

One Bush administration rule that would have made it easier for National Park Service superintendents to open existing trails to mountain biking was also halted, but since this particular rule was announced so late (Dec. 18), it’s still in the public comment period. The rule overturns one from 1987 that required park officials to issue a special regulation when designating or constructing mountain bike trails. People can comment on it until Feb. 17 at www.regulations.gov, or by mailing written comments to National Park Service, Attn. Regulations Program Manager, 1849 C St. N.W., MS-3122, Washington, DC 20240. Commenters must include the agency name “National Park Service” and “RIN 1024-AD72” in their submissions.

8) New Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to reconsider wolf delisting

An 11th hour attempt to remove Endangered Species Act protection from Northern Rockies gray wolves is temporarily on hold. On Jan. 14, outgoing Interior Department officials released a second delisting rule for wolves in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming that, if left in place, would take effect 30 days after publication of the new rule. The new rule differs in one significant aspect from the one rejected by a federal judge in July 2008 -- it separates Wyoming’s wolf population from wolves in Idaho and Montana. Under this split delisting, Wyoming’s wolves would remain under federal management because Wyoming’s management plan does not protect wolves in 88 percent of the state, where they could be killed at will by anyone at anytime.

Fortunately, before the new delisting rule was published in the Federal Register, the Obama administration issued an executive order stating in effect that many of the last-minute rules should be put on hold until designated individuals of the new administration have had time to review them (see item #7 above). This review process is now in play, and we can only hope that the wolf delisting rule will be withdrawn as a result. The new Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar could, by his own authority, do this.

Meanwhile, the Wyoming Legislature is considering five separate bills, only one of which designates the entire state as a Trophy Game Area. This bill is HB0021, sponsored by Rep. Keith Gingery (R-Fremont/Teton). In addition, Rep. Gingery’s bill more tightly defines the circumstances under which a private citizen can protect their property from wolf depredations, and places wolf management mainly under the control of the state’s Game and Fish Commission, not the Legislature. As it is now written, HB0021 is the only legislation proposed regarding wolf management that the Conservation Alliance can support. To view this and the other filed bills, visit http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2009/Bills.htm. (UPDATE: On Feb. 11, the Wyoming House of Representatives defeated the last remaining wolf management bill, HB0032, by a 52 to 7 margin. This bill would have given the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission more management authority over wolves, and would have retained Wyoming's dual classification system. The vote means that Wyoming will stick with its existing wolf management plan, one very similar to that which spurred the current halt in delisting.)

Background information on wolf delisting is available at www.jhalliance.org/issueswolves.htm.

9) Wyoming Legislature in session through February

A number of issues related to conservation and wildlife are on the agenda of the current general session of the Wyoming Legislature, which began Jan. 13 and will likely wrap up at the beginning of March. These range from managing wolves (see item #8 above) to outlawing sage grouse farms to keeping Wyoming’s night skies dark so we can all enjoy the stars.

You can follow the progress of such legislation at the Wyoming Conservation Voters website, www.wyovoters.org. If you’d like to comment, contact information for all state legislators is available via http://legisweb.state.wy.us.

10) Valley Voices

“One kind word can warm three winter months.”

- Japanese Proverb

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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.