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December eNewsletter Features(Click hyperlinks below to be taken to a specific article)
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 Good News Travels Fast!
NPS Academy is a new career preparation program that was launched in Grand Teton in March 2011, bringing 29 diverse college students from around the country into the park for a one-week alternative spring break experience. After successful completion of the spring break program, students were placed into 12-week summer internships in thirteen national parks across the country. With the help of an NPS mentor, students were able to explore potential NPS jobs and other careers in conservation.
PBS recently featured the NPS Academy in their This American Land series, episode 104. Watch the first 6 minutes of the video below to meet the students, the program leaders, and Grand Teton National Park Superintendent Mary Gibson Scott.
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Happy Holidays!
Did you know? 79% of Americans would rather have a charitable gift made in their honor this holiday
season than receive a gift they won't use?*
Give a gift that will reach a bit further this year:
support Grand Teton National Park! Your gift will bring high-quality education and improvements, wildlife protection and youth programming to Grand Teton--one of the most spectacular ecosystems in the world.
That's something to which we can all raise a glass of eggnog!  
*Survey conducted by ORC International's CARAVANĀ |
Wildlife Whereabouts  | | Photo credit: Audrey Hagen |
Here's Grizzly #610 in the park with her cubs on a cold morning at the end of November. Read on for more updates on wildlife in Grand Teton! - All bears should be in dens by the end of the month, sleeping through the heart of the winter.
- Fall migrations of elk have brought them to the National Elk Refuge and other wintering grounds.
- Teton Range bighorn sheep begin to move to small patches of rugged winter range where sun and wind keep high elevation ridges relatively snow free.
- Bighorn sheep from the Gros Ventre population have moved to lower elevations like Miller Butte on the National Elk Refuge, where they can often be seen from the refuge road.
- Most pronghorn have left Jackson Hole for winter ranges in the Green River drainage near Pinedale, having migrated through the upper Gros Ventre drainage.
- Moose have begun congregating in areas where bitterbrush is abundant, such as the sagebrush flats near the JH airport and town of Kelly.
- Long-tailed weasels and snowshoe hares have traded in their brown summer coats for a more seasonally cryptic white fur. The weasels maintain the black tip on their tail to help distract potential predators.
- As snow accumulates, sage grouse begin seeking out tall sagebrush for shelter and food.
- Resident waterfowl, such as mallard, goldeneye, bufflehead and trumpeter swans become confined to ice-free waters (thermal areas or moving streams and rivers).
Send us your photos of wildlife in Grand Teton so we can share them with others on Facebook, Twitter and in these monthly eNewsletters! |
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 In the Spotlight
Some people see the Tetons as a place of challenge; to others it's a place to relax. For Natalie Clark, artist, art advisor, and University of Wyoming Museum of Art national advisory board member, this rugged range has been a source of inspiration since the late '80s when she was commissioned to create environmental sculptures for a pro perty in Teton Village.
She returned a year later in search of a home and settled on a dilapidated turn-of-the-century Mormon church in Tetonia, ID, that she restored and converted into a studio. Today, you'll find this creative entrepreneur and her partner, Henry Armour, in remote corners of the world. No matter how far they roam, though, they always return to Grand Teton.
Natalie and Henry are champions of the Foundation and they helped build our corporate program that is now thriving. The couple is passionate about safeguarding the area's beauty and bringing responsible access so that many can enjoy it. "We don't think treasures should be locked away for none to see," Natalie says. "They should be maintained and polished and presented for all to see and appreciate. We believe in supporting our local communities in meaningful ways that reflect this belief."
Natalie's world is an eclectic mix of modern art meets organic forms, indigenous themes, and fashion, and her interest in nature is a thread that runs throughout her work and many of the pieces she represents. Fascinated by geometric shapes and the scale of natural spaces, Natalie says her rock-filled gabion forms and large-scale colored steel crystalline polyhedrons have their genesis in the sculptural planes of the Tetons.
On the road o r at home in Wyoming, Natalie is constantly surrounded by things that spark great ideas. What's next? "Watercolor artist and former local, David Wharton, and I recently put together a terrific collection of silk scarves and pocket squares capturing iconic images of the West--bison and moose, trout and fly rods, Indian blankets and baskets," Natalie says. "I've also just finished a poetic illustrated children's book, The Rain Baby, about life-giving rain that replenishes our oceans, rivers, and lakes and restores earth's balance. Art, or at least my art, is a reflection of the primary elements of life and of what surrounds us."
Natalie's studio is open by appointment. Natalie and Henry, we can't thank you enough for your interest in our work and your commitment to Grand Teton!
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Discover Grand Teton Online!
The Foundation is proud to have funded a new educational website: Discover Grand Teton.
This exciting, up-to-the-minute resource complements the park's existing website by highlighting the park's history, geology, ecostystems, flora and fauna, as well as the Junior Ranger program--a fantastic reference for the entire family. This month: discover the lesser-known details of Teton Geology, like geologic forces and earthquake activity!
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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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