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1) County
commissioners consider moratorium on subdivisions
and zone changes • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 1) County commissioners consider moratorium on subdivisions and zone changes Three development proposals are in the works that could add more than 1,100 new homes in South Park. This plus the fact that our community is now updating its Comprehensive Plan has led Teton County commissioners to consider enacting a moratorium on subdivisions and zone changes until the updated plan is adopted. At the April 1 board meeting, Commissioner Ben Ellis proposed a "temporary freeze in large lot subdivisions and zoning changes" on parcels larger than 20 acres. Ellis did not request immediate action on the moratorium itself, but rather a vote to consider the proposal in future public hearings before the Planning Commission and Teton Board of County Commissioners. After 30 minutes of public comment, the board voted 4 to 1 to request a recommendation and/or hearing on the moratorium proposal at the Planning Commission level. Uncertain as to whether the moratorium would apply to Teton Meadows Ranch, commissioners didn’t change previously scheduled hearing dates for that development proposal (see #2 below). Hearings regarding the moratorium were set as
follows: Please let the commissioners know what you think: Teton County Planning Commissioners: planningcom@tetonwyo.org The Teton Board of County Commissioners: (307)
733-8094 or commissioners@tetonwyo.org • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 2) Teton Meadows Ranch goes before commissioners April 29 After setting numerous conditions at a hearing on March 10, Teton County planning commissioners voted 3 to 2 to approve the Teton Meadows Ranch sketch plan. The proposal now passes to the Teton Board of County Commissioners, which has scheduled its first hearing for April 29, 9 a.m., at Snow King Resort’s Grand Room. Commissioners also set two tentative dates for public comment: May 7, 6 p.m. at Snow King Resort's Teton Room (changed from Snow King ice rink meeting room); and May 13, 9 a.m., at Snow King Resort’s Grand Room. (It’s possible these hearings could be affected by what comes of the moratorium discussion, described in #1 above. We'll keep you posted.) Teton Meadows Ranch is currently proposed as a 500-unit Planned Unit Development for Affordable Housing on the 288-acre Seherr-Thoss property (now zoned rural) at the southern end of South Park. The Conservation Alliance does not support the present proposal because it departs from: current zoning; fundamental principles of smart growth; and consistent application of affordable housing planning tools. Please see our fact sheet at www.jhalliance.org/Library/Alerts/TetonMeadowsFAQ.3-20-08.pdf or contact Kristy Bruner at (307) 733-9417 or kristy@jhalliance.org for more information. Also please contact the Teton County commissioners
with your questions and concerns: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 3) Comprehensive Plan survey results now available The online survey on the Comp Plan “future growth” scenarios wrapped up at the end of March, and you can view the results at www.jacksontetonplan.com/survey. More than 950 people took the online poll -- a majority of 37.9 percent picked “Provide stewardship of wildlife habitat and other environmentally sensitive areas” as the highest priority for Jackson and Teton County. “Manage growth responsibly” was ranked the second highest priority. As the next step, planners say they intend to meld the Jan. 30 public meeting results, plus votes gathered via the online and phone surveys, into a hybrid land-use scenario that will most closely reflect what the community wants. During the next series of public meetings, set for May 14 to 16, people will get the chance to review and provide comments on this “preferred land-use scenario.” (See www.jhalliance.org/issuescompplan.htm for links to more information.) The next set of public meetings is scheduled
as follows: Meanwhile, please check out “Balancing Act,” our recent publication on growth and the Comp Plan update. Look for it around town, in April 2nd issues of the Jackson Hole News&Guide, or pick up a copy at the Alliance office, 685 S. Cache. It’s also available online at www.jhalliance.org/Library/Alerts/CompPlanUpdate.2-08.pdf. In a related matter, the Conservation Alliance will present an overview of our Natural Resource Overlay mapping project to elected officials during the joint town and county information meeting on April 7, 3 to 5 p.m., Town Council chambers, 150 E. Pearl. The NRO is a designation on zoning maps that shows the location of lands with special wildlife values that are subject to more stringent development regulations. During the past year, the Alliance teamed up with the Conservation Research Center of Teton Science Schools, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and others to compile and map the best available scientific data on wildlife habitat in Teton County. We’re sharing the maps with the community, the town and county, and Clarion Associates, the Comp Plan consultant, to help provide pertinent information during the Comp Plan update process. The maps are also posted at www.jhalliance.org/maps.htm. For more about the project, visit www.jhalliance.org/Library/Alerts/NROmapproject.2-08.pdf.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 4) County commissioners to weigh Wilson Commercial Zoning District April 22 The Teton Board of County Commissioners will hear county planners’ proposal to create a commercial zoning district for Wilson on April 22, 9 a.m., County commissioners’ chambers, 200 S. Willow. (Although it’s possible this could be affected by what comes of the moratorium discussion, described in #1 above. We'll keep you posted.) Planners say some of the development allowed in Wilson’s commercial core under current zoning could drastically change the town’s character, while some types of development desired by residents is prohibited. Planning staff “believes it is important that a zoning district specific to the Wilson commercial core be adopted even while the Comprehensive Plan update is in process.” Basically, the new zone would set a boundary for commercial development in Wilson, and allow affordable housing and some market housing on second floors. For details, visit www.tetonwyo.org/plan and click on “Link to Wilson Planning Page” in the Announcements box. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 5) 151,000-square-foot hotel proposed for site near 5-Way On May 7, the Jackson Planning Commission plans to revisit a planned mixed-use development proposal for a hotel complex at the current Painted Buffalo site at 400 W. Broadway. Continued from March 19, the hearing is set for 5:30 p.m. at the Town Council chambers, 150 E. Pearl. The applicant, Mills Wyoming Hotel LLC, wants to build a four-story, 46-foot-high, 155-room luxury hotel (including a spa and fitness center, meeting space, restaurant, bar and some retail) using Jackson’s planned mixed-use development standard. Under the PMUD, larger buildings and more dense development are permitted if parking and employee housing requirements are met on site. Adopted in 2001, the PMUD was intended to encourage redevelopment that would allow people to live, work and shop in Jackson, but a rash of PMUD applications and approvals has raised concerns. The Conservation Alliance questions the bulk and scale of this proposed 151,000-square-foot hotel, particularly given its prominence at the main gateway to downtown. The application for a 70,000-square-foot-plus Marriott Hotel proposed at Pearl and Broadway, adjacent to the Mills project, is currently on hold. Either development would affect Jackson’s character. Also, consideration of such projects detracts from the current Comp Plan update process, which is supposed to take into account the community’s input about the kinds of development preferred in the downtown area.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 6) Decision to keep supervisor’s office in Jackson leads Bridger-Teton news Here’s a roundup of current issues regarding the national forest that surrounds Jackson Hole: FOREST HEADQUARTERS TO STAY IN JACKSON -- On March 20, forest officials pledged to keep the Bridger-Teton supervisor’s office somewhere in Jackson. They also said they’d continue to try to sell some or all of the headquarter’s current 15-acre site on North Cache to pay for new facilities. Intermountain regional forester Harv Forsgren said the community’s strong objections to a plan to move the supervisor’s office to Pinedale or Star Valley played a key role in his decision to keep the office in Jackson. At public meetings and in written comments, the Conservation Alliance and others voiced concerns about the possible detriment to cooperation with other land and wildlife managers in the valley, disruption to employees’ lives and our community, and the dubious precedent of selling off public lands to continue basic forest functions. No decision has been made so far on how much land at the current site will be sold, and how office, storage and employee housing issues will be resolved. We’ll keep you posted. SCOPING COMMENT PERIOD ON CONTESTED WYOMING RANGE LEASES EXTENDED TO APRIL 28 -- In January, Bridger-Teton officials announced plans for a new environmental analysis of oil and gas leases on 44,720 acres of the Wyoming Range west of Merna around Horse and Beaver creeks. These leases have been suspended since 2006, when the federal Interior Board of Land Appeals ruled that an earlier National Environmental Policy Act analysis didn’t adequately consider impacts to wildlife and the environment. Some have questioned the timing of this new analysis, given pending federal legislation that would prohibit future oil and gas leasing on the Wyoming Range, and the ongoing Bridger-Teton management plan revision. Regardless, the Forest Service can now either authorize or cancel the leases, and you have until April 28 to mail your comments to: Attn. Stephen Haydon, Forest Minerals Staff, Bridger-Teton National Forest, P.O. Box 1888, Jackson, WY 83001-1888. Or email your thoughts to comments-intermtn-bridger-teton@fs.fed.us, with “Leasing SEIS” in the subject line. Visit www.wyomingrange.org for more information on efforts to protect the Wyoming Range. BRIDGER-TETON NATIONAL FOREST MANAGEMENT PLAN REVISION -- Following a year-long hiatus, Bridger-Teton officials hosted a public meeting on the forest plan revision in Jackson on March 27. The last public meetings were in April 2007 and focused on identifying some of the forest’s management issues. Last week’s meeting was intended to generate ideas for how to deal with possibly conflicting multiple uses in certain areas. Many people attended, a large proportion of them snowmobilers and other motorized recreationists, which led to discussions mainly about motorized travel in the forest. The next set of meetings, to be held later this month in Kemmerer (April 23, 4:30 to 8:30 p.m, Ambulance Barn, 611 Onyx St.), Rock Springs (April 24, 4:30 to 8:30 p.m, BLM Field Office, 280 Hwy. 191 North) and Pinedale (April 28, 4:30 to 8:30 p.m, Rendezvous Pointe Community Center, 425 E. Magnolia St.), will look at the southern part of the Bridger-Teton. Follow-up meetings for all areas are planned for May. A final environmental impact statement by the National Forest Service had been expected in March that would have given Bridger-Teton officials the direction they need to formally resume the forest plan revision. Until this EIS is out, officials say they’ll continue with activities that aren’t dependent on it. Please watch our website and next month’s Alliance Action for updates. NORTH ZONE MOTORIZED TRAVEL / OFF-HIGHWAY VEHICLE PLAN UPDATE -- Unrestricted motorized use is currently allowed on more than 250,000 acres of the northern part of the Bridger-Teton National Forest during the summer and fall. That use has resulted in miles of user-created trails, disturbed wildlife, habitat degradation, the spread of noxious weeds and increased soil sedimentation in trout streams. After several delays, forest officials now say they’ll release a draft environmental impact statement on a travel plan to address these issues at the end of this month. The draft will likely include five alternatives, ranging from decreased motorized recreational opportunities to greater access. The preferred alternative is a trail system “somewhere in the middle,” according to Bridger-Teton staff. It would close some trails, move others and provide for environmentally friendly trails in some places. The public will have a chance to view and comment on the alternatives at an open house scheduled for May 6, 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Teton County Library. ELK WINTER MANAGEMENT EIS -- On March 11, Bridger-Teton officials released a draft environmental impact statement on authorizing the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission to use Forest Service land for their winter elk management program. This EIS, available at www.fs.fed.us/r4/btnf/projects, looks at the land and facilities on seven feedgrounds: Alkali Creek, Dog Creek, Fall Creek, Fish Creek, Muddy Creek, Patrol Cabin and Upper Green River. All but Patrol Cabin are on Forest Service land. Although the EIS identifies degraded vegetation, streams and fisheries as problems, the proposed action would renew Game and Fish’s requests for use with six mitigation actions. The Conservation Alliance has long advocated for a gradual phase-out of elk feedgrounds due to their role in spreading disease. The draft EIS acknowledges this problem, but defers to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department for wildlife management. Comments on the draft EIS are due by May 5, and can be mailed to Bridger-Teton National Forest, Winter Elk Management SUP, P.O. Box 1888, Jackson, WY 83001; faxed to (307) 739-5010; or emailed to comments-intermtn-bridger-teton@fs.fed.us, with “Winter Elk Management Programs” in the subject line.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 7) Rocky Mountain gray wolves lose Endangered Species Act protection On March 28, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service turned management of Wyoming’s gray wolf population over to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department -- the final step in taking the wolf off the list of species protected by the Endangered Species Act. Several organizations, including the Conservation Alliance, filed a notice of intent to sue over this delisting on Feb. 27, but legal action can’t be taken until April 28, the end of the 60-day notice period. On that day, we anticipate filing the suit in an attempt to stop this transfer of management authority. Wyoming’s plan will not provide adequate protection to the 360 or so wolves that currently inhabit the state and Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. Numbers of wolves outside the parks will likely be seriously reduced through aggressive control by the state, a liberal hunting and trapping season in the Trophy Game Area, and classification of the wolves as predators in the remaining vast majority of Wyoming. (Regulations guiding wolf hunting and trapping seasons and “bag” limits will be determined through public process later this spring, and will probably take effect next fall and winter.) Wyoming’s wolf management plan designates about 12 percent of the state as a Trophy Game Area where the Game and Fish Department will manage wolves. In the rest of the state, wolves are classified as predators along with coyotes, jackrabbits, raccoons, red foxes, skunks, porcupines and stray cats -- subject to killing by anyone at any time by any means. No significant or viable population of wolves is likely to exist in the predator zone. In the Trophy Game Area, complete protection will only exist for wolves that stay within Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, the John D. Memorial Parkway and the National Elk Refuge, which make up only about 31 percent of the area. In the remainder of the Trophy Game Area, wolves are now subject to: hunting and trapping seasons; aggressive control by the state and private individuals who claim wolves are harming livestock and other domesticated animals; and “control actions” whenever the Game and Fish Department determines that wolves are causing “unacceptable” impacts to big game herds. The National Parks and the National Elk Refuge -- only about 3.8 percent of Wyoming -- are now the only safe havens for wolves in the state. See www.jhalliance.org/issueswolves.htm for more on Wyoming’s wolves.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 8) County adopts bear conflict amendment After months of consideration and changes, the Teton Board of County Commissioners voted to adopt a bear conflict mitigation and prevention amendment at its April 1 meeting. Although the Conservation Alliance would have preferred a stronger amendment, this was a step in the right direction. The amendment divides private lands in Teton County into different management areas, with varying requirements for bear-proof garbage containers and bird feeders. Maps and the text of the amendment are available at www.tetonwyo.org/plan (under “Topics of Interest,” click on “Proposed Amendments,” then select the Bear Conflict amendment). The Conservation Alliance had asked that bear-proof garbage containers be required throughout the county. We also asked for regulations to prohibit new landscaping near homes from including trees and shrubs that might attract bears. We’ll continue to monitor this issue and make recommendations as situations warrant. Thank you to everyone who worked on this amendment, which is not just to protect humans from bears, but bears from humans, too.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 9) Please Don’t Poach the Powder Don’t forget -- many places are still closed to human traffic well into spring to protect wildlife. Please visit www.jhalliance.org/dontpoach.pdf for closure maps and information. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 10) Give a gift to Mom, and to Mother Earth! In honor of mothers everywhere, the Conservation Alliance is offering gift cards for your loved ones in celebration of Mother’s Day. Please visit www.jhalliance.org/Library/Alerts/MothersDay.3-08.htm for details. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 11) Coming Events Info Lunch -- Open Discussion • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 12) Valley Echoes “No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.”” -- Proverb
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Alliance Action is a publication of the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance. The Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance is dedicated to responsible land stewardship in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to ensure that human activities are in harmony with the area’s irreplaceable wildlife, scenic, and other natural resources. The Alliance is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization. (If you no longer wish to receive this e-newsletter, please send a note saying you’d like us to remove your email address from our list to: allianceaction@jhalliance.org.)
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