Welcome to the Bridger-Teton National Forest.
(laughs)
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I grew up in upstate New York,
with a Dad that was raised in Alaska.
So I grew up with this love for the outdoors, but didn't really get to do much of that growing up.
I just had this real passion for nature and the outdoors,
Watching Jane Goodall on tv and, hey there's a woman, and I can do this,
is what got me interested as a kid in doing what I do.
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All National Forests have their unique place and they are all beautiful.
But I will say that the Bridger-Teton, being one of the larger National Forests,
particularly in the lower 48, just has these vast landscapes that you can
get lost in.
It has one of the places in the United States that is the
farthest from any road system.
That's a pretty unique feature for us.
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We're one of the top forests in the nation for the number of visitors that we have
somewhere in the neighborhorhood of between 2 and 2 1/2 million a year.
People value all sorts of things about this forest.
They value clean water.
They value clean air.
They value the vast expanses of landscapes we have
and the wildlife that is protected in these areas.
We allow an amazing amount of uses.
Whether you end up wanting to walk your dog, shoot your elk, cut your firewood, go out and
graze some cattle.
We have allowed oil and gas development.
We allow some level of timber harvest.
And, ALL of these are done in a way that helps sustain these for future generations.
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It's a place of wild lands, wild life, headwaters, and wilderness.
We have amazing rivers, so you can whitewater raft.
You can whitewater kayak, or you can take a nice quiet boat out on a lake.
We have fishing.
Really great fishing opportunities!
Amazing hiking, mountain biking, skiing!
Whether that's at the world class downhill skiing areas
that we have.
Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Snow King.
You can cross country ski!
Get on a sled dog team and go for a ride!
Snowmobile!
It's all there!
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We're about to embark on Forest Planning on the Bridger-Teton.
What does that mean to me?
What it means to me is that we have the ability to really sit down with the public.
We want to hear from them!
What's their favorite place?
What do YOU value about the forest?
What kinds of activities make sense or don't make sense?
To me, thats where the engagement comes from when we get people who are really willing
to invest in their National Forest and want to be at that level of engagement
where we can both learn together.
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And while we are the stewards of the land, we're charged with helping to manage those,
its really important that the public understands the decisions that we make,
why we make these trade offs
and more importantly that they are engaged in those discussions.
If you are part of the solution, then you've got that ownership.
You can actually feel better
We don't actually know everything that there is to know about these lands.
The science, the passion around them.
That's what the public brings to us.
So when we make decisions, it's really important that they public has the opportunity to say,
"wait a minute, have you thought about this?"
And a lot of times those things really influence the decisions that we make.
In the long run we're trying to manage these lands for the greatest good for the long-term.
The Bridger-Teton invites you to share stewardship with us on the national forest.
So get out there, pick a spot and go play.
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