JACKSON HOLE CONSERVATION ALLIANCE

P.O. Box 2728

Jackson, WY 83001

(307) 733-9417

www.jhalliance.org

12/6/07

Highlights from Conservation Alliance Annual Meeting

Members of the community’s oldest and largest nonprofit environmental group elected new board members and renewed the organization’s commitment to responsible planning during the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance’s annual meeting Dec. 5.

Alliance members elected wildlife filmmaker Jeff Hogan, property manager Rafe Rivers, author and columnist Nancy Taylor and educator Carol Wauters to three-year terms. All but Taylor were appointed earlier in 2007 by standing board members.

Award-winning cinematographer Hogan has made himself at home everywhere from the wilds of Patagonia to the wildly pitching deck of a crab boat on the Bering Sea, but calls Jackson Hole home base. Hogan co-owns Wild Exposures Gallery downtown, where he shares his passion for the valley’s unique beauty and wildlife through his outstanding photography.

A summer spent guiding on the Snake in 2005 set the hook for Georgia native and avid fisherman Rafe Rivers to move to Jackson full time after he graduated from college in December that same year. The Alliance’s youngest board member was invited to join after he worked as an outreach intern in 2007, providing invaluable help with Party for the Pronghorn and other events.

Nancy Taylor writes the weeky “Going Green” column for Planet Jackson Hole. She’s also the author of “Go Green: How to Build an Earth Friendly Community,” teaches classes in yoga, meditation and green building, and has a business called Green Living and Building Consulting. Taylor lists oil and gas development, and “a lack of understanding of what is truly sustainable in this bioregion” as Jackson Hole’s most pressing issues.

Carol Wauters is also no stranger to environmental work. Before moving to Jackson Hole full time in 2002, she taught science and art, worked for a political action group focusing on environmental and social problems in New York, and volunteered for years for the Hudson River Folk Festival in its campaign to clean up the river. Wauters says she believes in doing “whatever is required to maintain and preserve this very intricate web of life of which we are but a part.”

Alliance board co-chair Chuck Schneebeck awarded certificates of appreciation to retiring board members Diane Hazen, Doug Inglis and Randy Luskey for doing such a terrific job during their terms. “Someone tonight called that their ‘sentence,’” Schneebeck joked. “But we want to thank you for all that you’ve done for the Alliance -- not only for the past six years.”

Philanthropist and longtime valley resident Kathe Henry was also honored with the Alliance’s Outstanding Conservationist of 2007 Award for her lifelong commitment to preserving and protecting natural resources. (Please see separate press release.)

The annual meeting included a spirited and engaging discussion among members, staff and board regarding the Alliance’s role in the current Comprehensive Plan update, resulting in a reaffirmation of the group’s continued commitment to responsible community planning in Jackson Hole.

Indeed, the Alliance’s mapping project to use the best scientific wildlife and natural resource data to analyze Teton County’s Natural Resource Overlay zone, a critical tool for protecting wildlife on private lands, topped the group’s list of accomplishments for 2007. The Alliance’s number one goal for 2008 is encouraging the people of Jackson Hole to get involved in the Comp Plan update in hopes of creating a community vision that respects and protects the community’s irreplaceable scenic, wildlife and other resources.

The Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance’s Annual Report for 2007, which includes lists of the group’s top ten accomplishments of 2007 and goals for 2008, is available at: www.jhalliance.org/Library/Reports/JHCAAnnualReport.12-07.pdf.

After the annual meeting, about 150 attendees enjoyed an entertaining presentation on the Art of Living with Wildlife by writer and cinematographer Charlie Craighead, followed by live music by the talented Margo Valiante.

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The Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance is a non-profit organization dedicated to responsible land stewardship to ensure that human activities are in harmony with the area’s irreplaceable wildlife, scenic and other natural resources.