Policy Agenda

The Jackson Hole community faces unprecedented growth and ongoing threats to our ecosystem and natural resources. The Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance (JHCA) advocates for responsible planning to support human-wildlife coexistence by protecting wildlife and wild places in Teton County. This Policy Agenda outlines the priorities and core initiatives that guide our advocacy goals from 2026 through 2030.

• Responsible planning for our ecosystem and infrastructure: Shape land-use policy, regulations, and zoning to ensure that all future development minimizes and mitigates its impacts on community infrastructure and natural resources.
• Wildlife habitat and permeability: Advance the protection of wildlife habitat, rural and working lands, and migration corridors to enhance landscape connectivity and wildlife permeability.
• Community and civic engagement: Cultivate conservation solutions by organizing and empowering collective, representative community voices.

1. Monitor and respond to governance and planning decisions: Track and assess development proposals, and engage decision-makers when a proposal conflicts with land-use regulations or the Jackson-Teton County Comprehensive Plan’s shared values.
2. Influence the Jackson-Teton County Comprehensive Plan update: Lay the foundation for effective Land Development Regulations by ensuring the Jackson-Teton County Comprehensive Plan upholds conservation standards
   
3. Assess and update Land Development Regulations: Advocate for amendments to Land Development Regulations that solidify natural resource protections and hold our elected officials accountable for those protections.
4. Organize community action for conservation: Support representative and effective participation in public decision-making processes through educational outreach and civic engagement. Provide programs like the Conservation Leadership Institute, where JHCA will train changemakers to drive conservation.
5. Build and foster influential coalitions: Create strategic collaborations with the community, elected officials, and other organizations to amplify collective influence for effective conservation planning across Teton County.