It is that time again.  The leaves are well on their way to producing their full array of the fall color palette and the morning nip of the air is telling all living things in Jackson Hole to prepare for the seasonal change.  The onset of chilly weather is also indicative of the conclusion of the monitoring season.

While the summer of 2009 has been hectic, getting out on the land is always the highlight of the year.  Monitoring has again brought the opportunity to visit conservation easement protected properties far afield in Sublette, Fremont, and Teton Counties of Wyoming and Teton County, Idaho.  Over 140 visits in total, with a few stragglers that are still to come with the onset of indian summer.  We’ve been fortunate to see some incredible vistas; Mount Moran from the Buffalo Valley, the working lands in Spring Gulch, the Snake River bottomland forest from the Park boundary south to Munger Mountain, and the Hoback Rim.  We’ve been fortunate to witness examples of the incredible wildlife resources in our portion of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem; bison rambling south of the Park near the Village, buck elk and mule deer lingering as they prepare for the rut, trumpeter swans and other waterfoul nesting and feeding in the vast collection of streams and ponds throughout the Valley, and the annual influx of neotropical songbirds that are predisposed to migrate within eyeshot.  We’ve been fortunate to experience the native floral communities in all their brilliance; meadows of wildflowers exploding with color following the June rains, the emergent and submergent aquatic plants that sustain all of the riparian dwellers, and agricultural grasses swaying in the breeze prior the being hayed. We have been fortunate indeed. 

Thanks again to all of the landowners and managers who have shared their time and knowledge of place with us over the course of past few months.  Your insight, property familiarity, and stewardship are held in high regard.  The Jackson Hole Land Trust appreciates the opportunity to be a partner with you in ensuring that the conservation values of your property are upheld.

Steffan Freeman