I was recently visiting with a landowner in the valley who is interested in protecting his family’s land with a conservation easement, and, as I was getting ready to head back to the office, he asked me if he could show me one more thing: an old ski jump.  The old jump was tucked into the hillside at the edge of the property, and I could see when we walked down to it that it had been many years since the last dare devil had launched off its formidable lip.  It was now overgrown with shrubs, its heavy logs rotting from the moisture of the shady slope.  The site was in the process of being reclaimed by the forest out of which it had been carved.

The experience reminded me of how intertwined open lands and outdoor recreation are, particularly in a place like Jackson Hole.  The Jackson Hole Land Trust is not a “recreation” group – our motivation for protecting open lands is primarily for the wildlife, agriculture, and scenery that they support.  But in the process of conserving over 20,000 acres of land in and around Jackson Hole, we have along the way protected numerous places that support public access and outdoor recreational activities. 

The popular trailhead leading up to “Cream Puff” at the mouth of Hoback Canyon, Karns Meadow where local paragliders land, and the ever popular (especially in the canine community) Emily’s Pond area at the Wilson Bridge are all permanently protected by the Jackson Hole Land Trust. 

And for hunters and anglers, much of the quarry we chase depends on the clean water and open meadows protected by the Land Trust for its survival and reproduction.

So get out and enjoy the open lands of Jackson Hole, whether it’s with a fly rod, a mountain bike, or a pair of hiking boots, and know that here at the Land Trust we are working harder than ever to make sure that those lands will stay that way, permanently.

-John

John Shepard manages land protection projects at the Jackson Hole Land Trust and thinks that paragliding looks like a lot of fun, though he’s never tried it.