Wildlife needs unbroken, connected habitat on both public and private lands to survive. And even though privately owned lands make up only 3 percent of Teton County, many are located in the best areas for wildlife. So development activities on private lands have both direct impacts on native species, such as habitat loss and fragmentation, and indirect impacts, such as the effects of increased noise and pets. To balance both human and wildlife needs, it’s critical to identify where to steer future development.

To this end, we're reassessing the Natural Resource Overlay zone (NRO), which was established in 1994 but hasn’t been reviewed since then. 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 2007, the Jackson Hole Conservation 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. Click here for the full report.

We’re sharing the maps with the community, the town and county, and Clarion Associates, the Comp Plan consultant, to provide this pertinent information during the Jackson/Teton County Comprehensive Plan updating process, which is going on NOW. (Click here for more on the Comp Plan update.)

Our NRO project was made possible through funding from The Community Foundation of Jackson Hole,
Wyoming Community Foundation, individual members of the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance,
and in-kind support from the Conservation Research Center of Teton Science Schools.
Many agencies and independent researchers in and around Jackson Hole also generously contributed data.