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We Bid Adieu to our 2011 Youth Conservation Program Crew
This summer marked Grand Teton National Park's sixth season of the Youth Conservation Program (YCP), funded by Grand Teton National Park Foundation. For ten weeks, youth ranging from 16 to 19 years old from all over the U.S. come together to perform critical trail and historic site restoration in Grand Teton.
 In addition to performing much needed labor in the park, the crew is mentored by various Park staff to learn about the multiple career opportunities present within the National Park Service.
This year's YCP crew consisted of 20 youth, 2 leaders, 3 assistant leaders and 7 volunteers, who contributed a total of 8,100 hours of work improving Grand Teton. They caulked Menor's Ferry and launched it into the Snake River. Together, they created a pathway around the Chapel of the Sacred Heart on Jackson Lake. They cleaned and prepared the Western Center for Historic Preservation and surrounding land for restoration work and rebuilt a horse corral around the Lower Berry Cabin. They assisted Grand Teton's fuels crew with reducing underbrush that feeds forest fires around the Beaver Creek housing area, added a quarter mile of trail around a marshy area near Emma Matilda Lake and even built a 40-foot log bridge over Hechtman Creek. 
The 20 youth will return to their respective high schools and colleges not only with a deep grasp of trail work, but of bear safety methods, the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and the role fire plays within it, backcountry first aid, and an appreciation for the outdoors. We thank all those involved for their commitment to such a successful season! YCP will embark upon its seventh season the summer of 2012. Keep your eyes open for application details in January onGrand Teton National Park's blog. For more information about the program please visit our website or email director@gtnpf.org.
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Our Fiscal Year End is Near-Approaching
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Wildlife Whereabouts
Even though summer is clearly upon us, many of the animals in Grand Teton are already beginning to prepare for the long winter ahead.
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Nestling birds have all fledged, with the exception of some trumpeter swan cygnets that might be in the final phase of feather development prior to their first flight.
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Peregrine falcon, eagle, osprey, and hawk young of the year are honing their flight and hunting skills, still under the watchful eye of parents.
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Wolf pups are now large enough to travel regularly with the adults in their packs.
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Black and grizzly bears are in "hyperphagia," a term used to describe the intensely active foraging period prior to denning.
- Moose, elk, bison, deer, and bighorn sheep young are quickly becoming more independent but will still stay with their mothers for the next several months.
- Southward migrations of many neotropical migrant bird species will begin.
- Many marmots and Uinta ground squirrels have already begun the long winter hibernation underground.
- Pika are scrambling to store enough forage in their food caches (called "hay piles") to get them through the winter as they remain active under the snow.
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Photo credit: Jerry Herman
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Send us your photos and videos of wildlife in Grand Teton National Park so we can share them with others on Facebook, Twitter and in these monthly eNewsletters! |
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Welcome to New GTNPF Leadership!
It is our pleasure to introduce, Grand Teton National Park Foundation's newest board members and resource council members whose dedication and support is greatly appreciated.
- Board of Directors:
- Nancy Donovan joins the board with 27 years of experience in the financial services industry. She and her husband, David, have owned property in Jackson for over 18 years. Nancy loves spending time in the mountains as an avid skier and hiker.
- Lisa Fleischman joins the board of directors, having recently served on the resource council. She has worked for nearly 30 years in philanthropy and in nonprofit management, both professionally and as a volunteer. Lisa and her family are avid skiers, hikers, rafters and climbers.
- Chris Hartley was active as a critical nurse instructor and nurse consultant in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. She lives in Teton Village, where she and her husband, Ross, retired in 2000.
- Mark Newcomb is a Jackson native and a part owner of Exum Mountain Guides. His guiding and mountaineering career has spanned 20 years and five continents.
- Tom Saylak is president and CEO of Teewinot Holdings, and private family investment office. Tom and his wife, Laurie, have been visiting Jackson Hole with their families since the 1960s and purchased their own home near Moose in 1998. Tom is an avid golfer, sailor and fly fisherman.
- Resource Council:
- Andrea Bent's career has encompassed law, finance and significant pro bono work. Her volunteer focus is now primarily dedicated to the preservation of ecosystems and international human rights. Andrea, her husband and daughter moved to Jackson in 2004.
- Ron Harrison first visited Grand Teton as a child with his parents in the 1940s. Ron is a longtime conservationist and owner of Jackson's Rusty Parrot Lodge & Spa. Andrea Bent's carrer
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Efforts to Lessen Vehicle-Wildlife Collisions
Grand Teton National Park Foundation partnered with The Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation and Grand Teton National Park to fund the creation of a flyer that alerts drivers to the potential hazards of driving in wildlife country. Every year more than 300 elk, deer and moose are killed by vehicles on Grand Teton National Park and Teton County roads. In an effort to lessen vehicle-wildlife collisions, the flyer promotes simple changes in behavior: slow down; pay attention to the sides of the road; don't use your phone when driving. These are smart and safe ways to drive and these behaviors result in dramatically less wildlife killed on our roads!
Approximately 40,000 copies of the flyer have been printed and will be distributed with rental cars in the Teton County area and various other locations.
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 location: 25 S. Willow, Suite 10, Jackson, WY 83001
mailing address : P.O. Box 249, Moose, WY 83012
tel: 307-732-0629 fax: 307-732-0639
e-mail: director@gtnpf.org
   
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