As mentioned in the Jackson Hole News&Guide, the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance recently launched the State of Wildlife study to serve as a tool for the Jackson Hole community to guide discussions and decisions relating to Jackson Hole wildlife and habitat and to help answer the question of what are in fact the greatest threats to wildlife and habitat in Jackson Hole.
When asked what the biggest threats to wildlife and habitat are in Jackson Hole, area experts often give different answers. Local government agencies and non-profits also have different mandates and missions. This makes it challenging to clearly identify complementary and unifying actions that address the main threats to wildlife in Jackson Hole. In an effort to bridge this gap, the Alliance is undertaking a “State of Wildlife Study.”
The study will:
· Synthesize existing data on key wildlife populations, habitats, and ecological processes into a unified, understandable, and publicly available reference.
· Identify major threats and gaps in current knowledge or data and explore our most needed conservation efforts.
· Provide the basis for a common framework among conservation groups to clarify their roles and priorities.
In honor of Addie and the late Ted Donnan, two longtime and passionate wildlife advocates, the Alliance is pleased to dedicate the State of Wildlife Study to their legacy.
David Hardie, Alliance Board Co-Chair, shared, “The community in and around Jackson Hole has been the beneficiary of Ted and Addie Donnan’s generosity and leadership for decades. We at the Conservation Alliance are extremely grateful for their involvement and are delighted to now dedicate the State of Wildlife Study to Ted and Addie in recognition of their contributions to our community.
“Through this project we will better understand the threats and challenges to our area wildlife. As a result, we will be better able to tailor our advocacy and achieve our mission of protecting the wildlife, wild places, and community character of Jackson Hole.
“We believe it is a fitting project to reflect the Donnans’ love and passion for our area and our wildlife.”
“As an organization committed to fostering an honest conversation about the long-term consequences of our decisions based on facts and data, we’re hopeful this study will help ensure our community pursues all the right avenues, based on the best available and most accurate science, to adequately protect the wildlife and habitat that make this place special,” said Craig M. Benjamin, Alliance Executive Director.
“We also believe that the best way to honor those who laid the foundation of conservation in Jackson Hole is to help our community collaborate even more effectively while protecting wildlife and habitat, and this study will help accomplish that goal,” Benjamin continued.
Siva Sundaresan, Alliance Conservation Director, explained, “Our community places wildlife conservation as our highest value and we collaborate with numerous local and regional groups to work on conservation issues in Jackson Hole. We hope this study will provide a basis of facts and data on the critical threats that wildlife in our region face and allow us to engage in a community conversation so that our diverse actions can complement and support each other to best address the threats faced by wildlife.”
The State of Wildlife study is funded through the Alliance Research Fund, which supports projects that foster a community-wide conversation, based on facts and data, about the long-term consequences of our decisions. For more information, visit JHAlliance.org-state-of-wildlife
