Green River Valley - Jackson Hole Land Trust

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Events

Commencement
Program Year: 2016

Acreage:
32,325 acres

Primary wildlife:
Sage grouse, pronghorn, mule deer, long-billed curlew, moose, elk

Primary use:
Working lands, wildlife habitat

Explore our protected open spaces in Green River Valley

GRVP PROTECTED
PROPERTY MAP

Events in Pinedale

Join us at a family-friendly event and let us bring open spaces to you

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Recent Land Projects

The Land Trust works to protect open spaces, wildlife habitat, working lands, and community spaces in Jackson Hole and Northwest Wyoming.

We protect land primarily through the use of a tool called a conservation easement. An easement acts like a blanket upon the landscape, being passed down from owner to owner, protecting the land for generations, uniquely shaped for each special aspect of the land upon which it sits. Each easement is different and varies depending on the desires of the original landowner.

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67 Circle Ranch

June 7, 2018/0 Comments/in Green River Valley /by orijin

The 67 Circle Ranch dates back to before Wyoming’s statehood, during territorial times. Ranch owner Edward Swan first traveled through the Green River Valley in 1863, returning fifteen years later to leave an indelible mark as a cattleman with his travel companion Otto Leifer. Swan and Leifer would become the first settlers to permanently homestead […]

Meet our Jackson Hole team

Visit: 7 West Pine Street,
Mail: P.O. Box 1580, Pinedale, WY 82941.
Chat: 307.367.7007.

Laurie Andrews

President

Scott Kosiba

GRVP Conservation Associate

Liz Long

Director of Conservation

Kathryn Tolley

Green River Valley Program Advancement Associate

Jenny Wolfrom

Director of Advancement and Engagement

OUR BOARD

Jason Snider

Chair of the Board

Bob Peters

First Vice Chair

Lori Fields

Second Vice Chair

Karen Parent

Secretary

Jennifer Sparks

Treasurer

Joe Albracht

Jill Baldauf

Bill Bradford

Jan Davis

Kelly Davis

Tom Evans

Mike Fenn

JJ Healy

Pete Lawton

Cody Lockhart

Alex Muromcew

Brad Nielson

Scott Pierson

Michael Schrotz

Recently retired after 38 years of federal service with the Forest Service, Michael has a long career of land and resource management, and many years of volunteer work.

Michael graduated with a Bachelor of Science Landscape Architecture (1974), from the University of Wisconsin. He entered private practice, working with many Wisconsin communities, helping residents and elected officials develop parkland systems; early years of collaboration. Michael moved to public service, beginning at the county-level as liaison between parks and freeway departments. He worked with neighborhood groups to locate and develop freeway systems. Michael moved to city-level public service, again working with neighborhood groups, developing parks and resolving recreation and land use issues.

Michael entered federal government as Landscape Architect for the Forest Service in northern Minnesota. He moved to Vermont as District Ranger; and then to the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming as Ecology Resource Group Leader. At the time of his retirement, he served as Planning and Lands Staff Officer, preparing for Forest Plan revision.

In his “free time” Michael and his wife Claudia spend many hours giving back to our community by volunteering. He has served on the Board of the Community Resource Center, and Presbyterian Church of Jackson Hole. In his early years in Jackson, he volunteered with Ducks Unlimited, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Trout Unlimited. Later he joined The Jackson Hole Lions Club, where he has served several times as President. Today he and Claudia are active with the Grand Teton Music Festival, the Center for Arts, and Lions activities.

Even after retiring, Michael remains active, working behind the scenes, on land adjustment cases, and meeting with private landowners to help them move their private land to public land.

Michael has positive energy, always working to resolve issues and concerns. He believes the glass is always half-full.

Shawn Smith

Ken Taylor

John Vogelstein

Rob Wallace

Emeritus Board

Vince Lee

Rod Moorhead

Gil Ordway

Allan Tessler

Mike Wardell

Open Space Council

Clayton Andrews

Emily Beardsley

Orion Bellorado

Teresa Binning

Sally Brin

T.A. Brooks

Andy Calder

Rani Clasquin

John Copeland

Anna Cole

Judy Cox

Matt Daly

Matt Daly grew up in Wilson, WY. Upon graduating from Jackson Hole High School, he took off for Lewis and Clark College in Oregon and swore he would never live in Jackson Hole again. Fortunately, he learned that the dramatic pronouncements of a young man usually end up sounding naive once he has gained a little more experience. It took ten years of school and travel and more school, before Matt made the quieter and better decision to return to the valley in 2000 with his then-girlfriend, now-wife, Cindy. He and Cindy have lived in Rafter J ever since. They like looking for long-eared owls and the other wild inhabitants of their neighborhood. They are less fond of lawn care. For about a decade now, their son Frank has kept them on their toes.

Matt has had many jobs, almost all of them in an educational settings, since returning to the valley. He currently teaches 9th and 10th grade English at the Journeys School of Teton Science Schools, a job he loves. In addition, he is a poet and writer whose work has been published in various print and online journals. He has taught creative writing to folks of all ages and in many places, including Orvieto, Italy, where he works as a faculty member for a Harvard Medical School CME course on reflection and resiliency practices for clinicians. He is a resident faculty member at the 2016 Jackson Hole Writers Conference. Matt collaborates regularly with other artists on creative projects, including both years of FoundSpace programming for the Land Trust. He is also a board member of the Wyoming Arts Alliance.

With forty years of his life connected to the valley, Matt feels deeply honored to serve on the Open Space Council. The landscapes he loves most in Jackson Hole are often those that remind him of the ragged pasturelands he tromped through as a boy. Thanks to the Land Trust, those rough-around-the-edges places still exists and keep the whole valley feeling a little bit wild. He hopes he can contribute something useful to the good work of the Land Trust.

When not writing or teaching or spending time with family, Matt avoids yard work by being an avid fly fisherman. His love of moving water that is cold and clear enough for trout usually keeps him at lower elevation, looking up at the mountains instead of zipping down them.

Mike Daus

Randy DePree

Chris Denny

A.J. DeRosa

Chad Driewer

Mary Gerty

Sabrina Gracias

Barbara Haas

Christopher Hawks

Jean Hocker

Lynn Hitschler

Des Jennings

Caitlin Keys

Beedee Ladd

David Larson

Fio Lazarte

Fio Lazarte has been a Jackson resident for almost 10 years. During this time Fio found her love for the mountains and teaching. This part of the journey began when she became a part time preschool teacher, a volunteer tutor, and Spanish language teacher for adults. Following this, she became a lead teacher at a preschool and eventually joined the staff at Teton Literacy Center where she joined a new team to create an early literacy program. In this position, she has had the opportunity to help create a literacy-preschool program that serves children from low income families. Without this program, these children were at greater risk for struggling as they entered kindergarten. After one year of this program, all 30 of the children who participated and entered kindergarten are experiencing great success, which has been rewarding. More importantly, she finds the job very exhilarating and she has become passionate about teaching. In addition to Kindergarten readiness, she also teaches at Jackson Elementary for after-school enrichment pieces.

In addition to her preschool teaching experience, she has also served as a volunteer advocate for the Community Safety Network—an organization committed to providing support, shelter, and advocacy for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. Through this work, she has had the opportunity to advocate for victims who need support in their native language. In this respect, she also became a volunteer for the Latino Resource Center assisting at organization events and helping Latinos feel part of the community and supports the Santa’s Fund as another way to show gratitude to this community. Finally, she is also part of the Old Bill’s Fun Run Committee as the Latino Outreach Coordinator, during this time she was in charge to increase the Latino participation at Old Bills during this wonderful fundraising. Through all this work, she seeks to give back to the community of Jackson.

Gretchen Long

Meghan Bell Lori

Carli Lyon

Ben Mackay

Originally from Minnesota with fourth-generation ranching roots in Montana, Ben graduated from Colby College in Maine with a BA in Environmental Policy. After college, Ben pursued a non-traditional route. He built a mahogany sea kayak and paddled the coast of Maine, worked on a vineyard in Burgundy, France and worked ski patrol at Park City Mountain Resort before and during the 2002 Winter Olympics. Ben then moved to Sun Valley where he ran environmental education programs for the Environmental Resource Center and became an instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) teaching sea kayaking in Alaska and back country skiing / winter camping in the Tetons. In his search for a way to live long-term in the mountains, Ben left the west in his mid-20’s to pursue his MBA at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts and was hired by a private equity firm in Dallas where he worked for 6 years. During the winter of 2011/12, Ben worked remotely from Jackson and has since bought a home and relocated to Jackson full-time. Ben currently runs a private equity firm, Long Trail Holdings, which focuses on majority purchases of closely held businesses across the U.S.

Open space preservation and fostering a human connection to nature have always been important to Ben. “Spending months at a time in the wilderness while working for NOLS and then returning to modern day US culture helped me to appreciate the little things, value inter-personal relationships and recognize the value of a slower-paced, more deliberate approach to life. A connection to nature can help provide perspective on our lives and our place in the world which is very valuable when contrasted with the human-created, marketing-driven US economy and fast-paced financial markets. The incredible work of the Jackson Hole Land Trust has helped preserve the opportunity for residents and visitors to our valley to develop that connection to nature. That is why I am committed to volunteering my time through the Open Space Council.”

Neal Manne

Holly McAllister-Swett

Mary McCarthy

Porgy McClelland

Susan McDowell

Brad Mead

Mack Mendenhall

Tom Montgomery

Tom Muller

Charlotte Oliver

Trina Overlock

Lewis Parker

Aaron Pruzan

Carolyn Ripps

Elisabeth Rohrbach

Ben Roth

Ben Roth was born in Cheyenne, WY and raised in Littleton, CO. Being raised in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains meant he spent his childhood camping, fishing, and honing his eye for the evocative shape of the natural world.

After graduating from UNLV with a degree in hotel management, Ben worked in the restaurant business and did art on the side, all the while fine tuning his understanding of the interplay of sensory experiences. In 2001, he founded YARD Art through the Art Association of Jackson Hole. “Young Artists-Revolutionary Designs” taught up-and-coming artists the process of metal fabrication and sculptural design from start to finish. During his time mentoring young artists, Ben made art his primary focus and started Ben Roth Design, the business he still owns and runs today.

Inspired by the dramatic beauty of the Tetons and the wildlife of Wyoming, Ben crafts metal works and sculptures that have both a simplicity and intricacy.

Ben Roth has received awards for his art from both Americans for the Arts and Custom Home Magazine. The Value of Water, a group show with author Terry Tempest Williams and Felicia Resor was installed at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City where it was on display in 2011 and 2012. His works are held in numerous private collections throughout the Rocky Mountains, California, and the Upper Midwest. His public art installations can be seen in Vail, CO, Green Mountain Falls, CO, Jackson, WY, Cheyenne, WY, and Minneapolis, MN.

Ben says, “Working as an artist in Jackson Hole situates me in the midst of a wild place and enables me to express my deep regard for the environment through my art. My work continues to reflect the scale of the mountains, the impact of the seasons and the influence of the natural world. For me, art is a means of expression and also a way to have a positive impact on our interactions with the environment. We live in a place that is worth preserving, and the Land Trust has been successful in protecting habitat and views that I’ve enjoyed all my life. How could I NOT join the Open Space Council?”