Issue
Easy year-round access to trails is important to our quality of life in Jackson Hole. Residents and visitors alike use the valley’s extensive trail system for hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, skiing, hunting and fishing, and other outdoor pursuits.
Unfortunately, public land trails are at risk. The United States Forest Service recreation budget continues to suffer from annual budget cuts. Chronic funding shortfalls are hindering the ability of the USFS to maintain trails and trailheads in Teton County. The Bridger-Teton, Caribou-Targhee, and Shoshone forests in the Jackson Hole region all contain internationally significant public lands that are important for wildlife, recreation, hunting, and fishing. There is a similar funding shortfall for Nordic grooming and trail maintenance in Grand Teton National Park. And locally, Teton County wore out its Nordic ski groomer this past winter and is finding it difficult to replace the 20-year old Piston Bully grooming machine.
There is a demonstrated need for outside support programs to assist the Forest Service, local government, and National Park Service with on-going trail and Nordic stewardship assistance.
The Solution
Public Land Managers are increasingly looking to community partners like Friends of Pathways to help address the significant funding and stewardship challenges they face to maintain our trail systems and Nordic Grooming programs to the high standards befitting our public lands. Non-profit partners like Friends of Pathways are helping by providing additional funding to help sustain and enhance our public trails and Nordic systems.
The second part of the solution is active public participation in trail planning and public land management decisions. Trail user’s comments help greatly in deciding where and how we can use public lands. Land managers are required to study the impacts of actions being considered on public lands, and need feedback and comments from the public to make the best decisions.
Friends of Pathways Role
Friends of Pathways is an established partner with government agencies in the ongoing stewardship of our local pathways and trail systems. FoP will continue to invest time and effort into specific projects, such as new Greater Snow King Area and Teton Pass Area trails, and in trail education and information guides. For information on how you can help with the “2007 Invest in Dirt” campaign, please see [link]
Friends of Pathways is a formal long-term partner in the Challenge Cost Share program with the United States Forest Service to fund the Greater Snow King and Teton Pass Area Trails staff positions. This program has been extremely successful and a critical element to helping address the rapid increase of trail use in these close to home recreation areas.
Highlights of the Friends of Pathways’ Trails and Nordic Programs include:
- Greater Snow King Trails Coordinator Position. As a non-profit partner, FoP administers the trail program staff.
- Teton Pass Winter Trails Ambassador Position – Friends of Pathways managed and helped develop of the first Teton Pass Winter Trails Ambassador position to help address winter backcountry safety issues, users conflicts, parking shortages, and to instill winter stewardship ethics for backcountry travelers on the Bridger-Teton and Caribou-Targhee forests.
- Summer Educational Trails Ambassador Position – Friends of Pathways has just expanded its summer season trail patrol position, to better address summer trail conflicts, trail etiquette, responsible dog ownership, and other issues in the Cache Creek and Teton Pass areas.
- Partnership in the “R&R Respect and Responsibility Campaign” [link]
- Preliminary discussions with Grand Teton National Park on the feasibility of FoP supporting additional Nordic grooming program in the park.
This tremendously successful partnership between Friends of Pathways and the Bridger-Teton National Forest dates back to 1995 and continues to grow. The first year, many volunteers worked in Cache Creek to repair trails, install wood bridges to reduce stream bank damage, and construct an accessible boardwalk trail to the picnic site along Cache Creek. Since then, volunteer and USFS efforts to support sustainable trail systems in the most developed areas of Jackson Hole have greatly matured and expanded.
Friends of Pathways is also involved in much of the planning that affect public trails. FoP participates in all local area trail plans, bringing trails expertise and knowledge to assist public land managers in planning decisions that decide what new trails will be built and repaired. FoP understands the planning process and is experienced in the national environmental laws that dictate how decisions may be made on the National Forest and National Park Service lands.
Finally, Friends of Pathways helps bring nationally recognized experts to Jackson Hole to teach best practices and inform our trail system development. FoP has hosted the IMBA Trail Care Crew several times, and brings renowned speakers like Dr. John Pucher to help stimulate public dialog on trails and pathways.
Public Action
Building successful partnerships and developing a communal sense of shared responsibility and respect for our pathways, trails and natural resources requires public support and involvement. Friends of Pathways members and all trails and pathways users have an important role to play in this ongoing stewardship.
We hope you’ll support Friends of Pathways goal of raising $20,000 to help improve, steward and expand your public land trails this summer, particularly on Teton Pass. Please Invest in Dirt! [link] Your gift will directly support the construction, labor, tools, and planning needed to build new trails. If you enjoy good dirt, please contribute to the 2007 “Invest in Dirt” campaign!
In addition, Friends of Pathways will continue to help you understand trail and Nordic plans that come up for consideration, and alert you to opportunities to comment. The best outcomes often come from effective public participation, and FoP will continue to be one of the lead trail advocacy groups encouraging public comment on trails and Nordic grooming plans.
Please sign up for our e-mail alerts so that Friends of Pathways can keep you informed and provide the specifics on how you can help. FoP will do the hard work of researching pathway, trail and Nordic plans, and we’ll provide useful factual summaries to best utilize your time and maximize your effectiveness in commenting.
More Information
Note: The Bridger-Teton National Forest developed the following official strategy for the Greater Snow King Area after extensive public meetings and planning:
Greater Snow King Area Strategy – From the Bridger-Teton National Forest
“Respect for People, Respect for the Land – Sustainable Trails”
Problem Statement
The Greater Snow King area trail system is faced with a growing population with diverse and frequently conflicting users recreating in an area that has not been designed or managed to minimize conflicts and reduce resource damage.
Program Goals:
- Create a sustainable trail system to offer an enjoyable experience to the broadest range of non-motorized uses possible.
- Promote responsible, shared use of trails and provide information to inform visitors about trail opportunities.
- Protect wildlife, plant, soil and water resources through design of trail systems, education and enforcement, and restoration projects.
- Maintain existing facilities, monitor visitor use and resource conditions, and gather public feedback about conditions.
Underlying Principles:
- Foster joint stewardship – citizen/non-profit organizations/agencies participation in taking care of public lands.
- Connect the community with their public lands – allow relatively high use in areas close to town so that people can have daily contact with nature and more remote areas can be maintained in wilder state.
- Work towards crafting long-term solutions in place rather than just moving problems to another location.
Trail Challenges --- Strategy “Sustainable Trails”
- Pursue a multiple-use, share the trail concept for the area with a mixed density trail system (i.e. provide short loops close to town – west face of Snow King, lower Cache Creek, lower Game Creek - - provide less dense trail system away from town)
- Focus on making repairs to the existing trail system first and re-designing existing spiderwebbed trail networks to provide a sustainable system that meets visitor needs. Explore adding new loop connections only after existing problem areas are repaired.
- Involve community and youth in trail maintenance and repairs and acknowledge people’s contributions.
- Install quality signs at major trail junctions to help people successfully navigate the system, reduce the development of shortcut trails, and help create a consistent “look” for the entire Greater Snow King area.
- Produce comprehensive summer and winter recreational map, brochures, and trail guide to inform people about opportunities, public access points, area information, and responsible use.
- Explore options for separating uphill and downhill traffic in lower Game Creek to minimize conflicts.
Teton Pass Trail System
Note: The Bridger-Teton National Forest developed the following official strategy for the Greater Snow King Area after extensive public meetings and planning:
Shared Use Trails (Hiking, Horse riding, X-C Biking)
(trails designed for slow bike speed with good line-of-sight)
- Black Canyon trail
- Phillips Canyon trail
- Old Pass Road (most suitable for hiking and biking)
- Phillips Ridge trail (BPA road system plus trail connection; most suitable for X-C biking)
- Teton Pass Ridge trail to Mount Elly
- Big Rocks trail
- Ski trail system – bottom of Black Canyon
- Portion of BPA connector road (Old Pass road to Phillips Bench trailhead)
Trails designed primarily for hiking, horses (but bikes not prohibited)
- Ski Lake trail (bike use may be prohibited in future if non-regulatory approach fails to divert most bike use to Phillips Canyon)
- Phillips Pass trail
- Indian Paintbrush Ridge trail
- Teton Pass Ridge trail beyond Mount Ely
Horse and Hike trails (bikes prohibited)
- History Trail (with lower portion following Trail Creek)
- Mount Glory to Phillips Pass (not recommended for horses)
- Connection between Old Wagon road and Old Pass road (former Slide Trail)
Technical Bike trails (hiking/horse use not recommended)
(trails designed specifically for biking with natural features in trail)
- Telemark Bowl powerline
- Phillips powerline to highway (with potential for future connection down to Old Pass road)
- Crater Lake trail (Phillips Bench trailhead to Trail Creek trailhead)
- Lithium trail
- User Challenges --- Strategy “Respect for People”
- First implement educational program to promote compliance with shared trail use ethics and implement design options to separate conflicting uses where possible. Consider implementing new forest regulations regarding shared trail use and/or use restrictions only after implementing first approach and seeing no positive results.
- Provide field patrols during summer and winter to convey responsible, shared use information through personal contacts. Involve volunteers in helping promote responsible use (e.g. mountain bike patrols, dog owner education)
- Develop quality interpretive trailhead signing to inform people about specific area opportunities, use restrictions, volunteer opportunities, and responsible, shared use.
- Implement media campaign to raise awareness about the need for respect towards people and towards the land and offers specific tips on responsible recreation.
- Engage local shops and businesses in helping promote responsible recreation and community involvement in maintenance and restoration projects.
- Work with Teton County and other entities to develop more recreational opportunities close to town (e.g. town dog parks, groomed skiing, bike parks, pathways)
- Sponsor events that bring different recreational users together to understand each other’s perspective and needs.
Resource Challenges – Strategy “Respect for the Land”
- Promote understanding of the effects of recreation on wildlife, trails, streambanks, noxious weeds, and water quality and what people can do to minimize their effects.
- Provide field patrols to talk with recreationists about specific area restrictions and tips for avoiding impacts.
- Work with agencies, non-profit organizations, and universities to gather information about the effects of recreation on wildlife, water quality, streambanks, noxious weeds, and trails.
- Monitor resource conditions and share results with the community, non-profit organizations and agencies.
- Implement projects to help restore damaged streambanks and trails or reduce noxious weed infestations.
- Install and maintain facilities that help protect wildlife, water quality, vegetation, and soil resources (e.g. restrooms, mutt-mitt stations, bear-resistant dumpsters, parking areas, trails)
- Involve community members, youth, non-profit organizations, and volunteer service organizations in resource maintenance and restoration projects.
