JH Underground – news, sports and music blog from Jackson Hole, Wyoming news, sports and music blog from Jackson Hole, Wyoming

While most trees have been bare for weeks, remarkably some cottonwoods and aspens in east Jackson are just now hitting peak color.

All that foliage on the ground leaves residents with a quandary: rake them out onto the street, where they eventually clog drains (definitely not advised); do nothing, and hope they blow into neighbors’ yards (probably not advised), or bag them to send them off to the landfill in Idaho Falls (expensive and wasteful).

Teton County Integrated Solid Waste is offering a new alternative this year: accepting yard waste for free at the trash transfer station, where it will be made into compost.

Residents may drop off trees, branches, shrubs, grass, leaves and weeds through Saturday. The station is open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. The offer does not apply to businesses.

Last spring, the recycling program offered free bags and collected yard waste, with the help of the town public works department, to be made into compost. It’s possible with more funding the service could be expanded next fall. With cleanup of the old landfill south of town and planning underway for an improved trash transfer and recycling center, the community has an opportunity to create a more comprehensive composting program.

While composting is not highly profitable, it’s cheaper than paying to ship grass and leaves to Idaho Falls. And for a valley known for its rocky, poor soil, the compost could help the growing local agriculture movement.

Posted under County Government, Economy, Environment, Politics, Town Government

Tags: conservation, recycling

A few months ago, Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Dan Wenk raised eyebrows when, at a joint meeting of town and county leaders, he said the park does not have 3 million visitors per year, as often touted. Rather, Wenk said, the park attracts more like 1.5 million people, some of whom visit multiple times.

A study released by the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance this month further calls into question the widely held notion that Teton County hosts 3 million — sometimes stretched to 4 million — visitors per year.

The study gives a snapshot of the county’s “effective population,” or the total number of people found here at a given time. The tally combines permanent residents, second home owners, seasonal workers, commuters and tourists.

At the peak of summer (July 15), that total is more than 60,000. In winter (Feb. 15), the effective population is 40,000, and even in the shoulder seasons (April and November) the tally is 30,000.

Read More…

Posted under County Government, Economy, Politics, Town Government

Tags: conservation, development, grand teton national park, tourists, yellowstone

Nearly 20 years ago, the community drew a boundary around town where lodging — hotels, B&Bs, short-term rentals — would be permitted. The goal was to concentrate tourists around the Square and in areas where services and amenities are easily available.

Now, in an era of VRBO and AirBnb, those boundaries have been muddied. Also, developers are pitching new hotels on North Cache and the old Sagebrush Motel site on Flat Creek, west of Staples.

The Town of Jackson is seeking input from citizens on where lodging should be allowed. Planners are taking a fresh look at the boundary, called the lodging overlay, as they begin to write regulations for the new Comprehensive Plan.

It’s a key decision because lodging generally is seen as the most profitable use of land, meaning property owners could stand to gain or lose value. Also, the community wants to preserve the quiet character of residential neighborhoods.

Read More…

Posted under Economy, Environment, Politics, Town Government

Tags: conservation, development, tourists

From its beginnings as a trickle of snowmelt off Two Ocean Pass to the thunderous cataracts of its Grand Canyon and sinuous meandering through the plains of Montana, the Yellowstone River is the longest undammed river in the lower 48 states.

A new film by Hunter Weeks follows a 30-day journey by drift boat down the river to its confluence with the Missouri at Fort Buford, N.D. Where the Yellowstone Goes chronicles the people and landscapes the party encounters while floating and fishing this majestic waterway.

Weeks will show the film and take questions Wednesday night in a benefit for American Rivers at the Pink Garter Theater. Tickets are $10, available online or at Jack Dennis Sports and Teton Mountain Lodge. Showtime is 7 p.m.

I’ve always thought of the Yellowstone as one of the uppermost headwaters of the Mississippi. Along those lines, I’d someday like to make a journey from Atlantic Creek all the way to New Orleans.

Posted under Environment, Sports

Tags: conservation, fishing, pink garter, river running, yellowstone

The Trust for Public Land announced today it has raised the $8.75 million needed to buy drilling leases and protect 58,000 acres of the Wyoming Range south of Jackson from oil and gas development.

The deal ensures that fracking will not occur in some of the headwaters of the Hoback River, and up to 136 wells will not be drilled in a pristine area prized for hunting, fishing, hiking and horseback riding.

The trust had been racing a Dec. 31 deadline to raise the necessary funding, which will be paid to Plains Exploration and Production of Houston, the company that owned the drilling rights.

“I can’t think of a better way to start off the New Year. This solution honors the wishes of the people of Wyoming and protects a vital corner of Greater Yellowstone for generations to come,” said Will Rogers, TPL president and CEO.

The largest donation came from Hansjörg Wyss, a Wilson homeowner who contributed $4.25 million through his charitable foundation. Joe Ricketts, the TD Ameritrade founder and part owner of the Chicago Cubs who owns a home near Bondurant, gave $1.75 million, including an eleventh-hour gift of $750,000 that pushed the campaign across the finish line, the trust said in a release.

Posted under Environment, Politics, Sports

Tags: conservation, fishing, hunting, national forest, oil and gas, river running