Known for its pastoral setting and sense of wildness that extends from Teton Valley, Idaho northward to Yellowstone and beyond, the west side of the Tetons have a different vibe and sense of community from what's found on the other side of the mountains in Jackson Hole. Here, amid moonrise, sunset casts the summits in alpenglow. Photo by Lane V. Erickson/Shutterstock ID: 1288379848
EDITOR'S NOTE: Greater Yellowstone is being rapidly inundated by development and many see the proposed expansion of Grand Targhee Resort as a flashpoint for dramatic changes that could transform Teton Valley, Idaho located along the west side of the Tetons. Among the many looming questions: is the US Forest Service obligated to help a private ski company expand its operations on public land so that it can notch more profit? Is it fair for the ski company to externalize its costs of doing business on the public? Is the county commission of Teton County, Wyoming being a good neighbor by greenlighting the resort’s growth knowing that much of the fiscal, social and environmental costs will be foisted on the citizens of Teton County, Idaho? In this guest essay below, Cindy Riegel, chair of the Teton County, Idaho Board of Commissioners, speaks of concerns she has an elected leader. Having lived earlier in her life in Jackson Hole on the other side of Teton Pass, Riegel is well aware of what happens when a major ski destination—the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort—expands to mimic the kind of industrial strength infrastructure found at Colorado resorts. Recently, it was revealed that Jackson Hole Mountain Resort has been in secret meetings with officials from the Bridger-Teton National Forest seeking to expand its skiing terrain into places that provide vital habitat for a remnant bighorn sheep herd. —Mountain Journal
By Cindy Riegel
Chair of the Teton County, Idaho Board of Commissioners
Grand Targhee Resort (GTR) owners, investors, and consultants are working hard to evolve from a regional resort into a “world class destination resort” on the west side of the Teton Range.
Its location straddles the shared border of Teton County, Idaho and Teton County, Wyoming. While the resort resides in Teton County, Wyoming, many of the social, community and environmental impacts would fall upon the public and private lands of Teton County, Idaho.
In addition to a proposal to the US Forest Service to significantly expand the resort boundaries and on-mountain amenities, Grand Targhee Resort recently submitted their first development application to Teton County, Wyoming to construct a base area village with cabins, condos, hotels, restaurants, and retail stores.
For a little background, the resort acquired 120 acres at the base area from the Forest Service in 2004 after a lengthy and contentious process that involved swapping a 400-acre inholding at Squirrel Meadows near Ashton, Idaho. Since the base area became private, all zoning and land use decisions fall under the jurisdiction of Teton County, Wyoming.
If you ski up there, you know the addition of the Colter Lift has opened up a lot of new terrain. ‘The Ghee’ feels a little less quaint and a little more like a large ski area in Colorado or Utah.
Now imagine increasing lift-served terrain by an additional 25 percent, adding on-mountain lodge/restaurants, and constructing a residential and commercial village at the base.
The success of these extravagant plans is only possible with the services, infrastructure, and cooperation provided by Teton County, Idaho and the cities within.
The High Divide is an important ecological link between Greater Yellowstone and wildlands/rural landscapes to the north. Graphic courtesy High Divide Collaborative
The residents of Teton Valley, whom I serve, will be paying for the additional impacts on our roads, schools, law enforcement, and emergency services. Meanwhile, new property tax revenue from residential and commercial development at the base area along with all sales tax revenue on lift tickets, food and beverage, retail sales, and lodging will be funneled to Wyoming.
The consequences of becoming a “world class destination resort” on our quality of life are easy to imagine because we have one on the other side of the Tetons in the form of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. That has resulted in increasing traffic and accidents; wildlife roadkill; air, noise and light pollution; more luxury homes and short term rentals; an insurmountable affordable housing crisis; and a mountain that locals can’t afford to ski at. The big difference is that the taxes collected in Teton Village actually go to the community where Jackson Hole Mountain Resort is located.
"The consequences of becoming a 'world class destination resort' on our quality of life are easy to imagine because we have one on the other side of the Tetons in the form of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. That has resulted in increasing traffic and accidents; wildlife roadkill; air, noise and light pollution; more luxury homes and short term rentals; an insurmountable affordable housing crisis; and a mountain that locals can’t afford to ski at." —Teton County, Idaho Commission Chair Cindy Riegel
We elected officials in Teton County, Idaho have consistently expressed our concerns to both the Forest Service and Teton County, Wyoming officials about the significant fiscal and quality of life impacts on our residents, since we were first alerted to the expansion proposals in 2020.
I recently attended three Planning Commission meetings in Jackson along with other representatives from Teton County and Driggs, Idaho to reiterate these concerns and make specific requests for revenue sharing with Idaho, adequate housing mitigation in Idaho, proactive planning for emergencies like wildfires, and some sort of mandatory consultation with service providers in Idaho.
We are also trying to make sure Grand Targhee Resort is not released from their obligations to abide by the Teton County, Wyoming Land Development Regulation (LDRs) or their approved Resort Master Plan.
Grand Targhee’s first development application for 28 cabins in a “remote forested area” was recommended for approval by the Planning Commission in a 3-2 vote despite several missing pieces including a road impact fee calculation, a wildfire management plan, and a housing mitigation plan. In addition, legal justification for using the “administrative adjustment” tool to allow some of these cabins to be built on steep slopes (greater than 30 percent) was lacking.
This preliminary approval supports a consistent trend that vastly favors the developer’s wants over the community’s needs, perhaps because that community is in Idaho. From the beginning, decision makers in Jackson have been reluctant to involve Idaho leaders in negotiations to mitigate and compensate for the impacts on our community. For example, there is a requirement that Grand Targhee Resort pay a road impact fee for maintenance of the Wyoming portion of Ski Hill Road but not the Idaho portion.
Quaint it ain't: A view of the current mountain and base operation at Grand Targhee Resort on the west side of the Tetons located along the state line between Wyoming and Idaho. Critics of expansion say it's not about the size of the resort today but how enlarging its footprint on public land will set the stage for a flurry of development on private land at the base. Besides social concerns ranging from higher service costs footed by taxpayers to lack of affordable housing, scientists note how that corner of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is important for local and migratory wildlife. It also represents the southern extension of the High Divide Ecosystem. Let us not forget that on the other side of the Tetons is Jackson Hole Mountain Resort where biologists worry that the ongoing creep of industrial strength outdoor recreation is threatening the survival of a remnant bighorn sheep herd.
The development application mentioned above that was submitted to Teton County, Wyo started the approval process for development on the 120 acres of private land at the base area.
Further expansion of the resort boundary and resort amenities on public land is dependent on the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that the Caribou-Targhee National Forest requires for their decision making.
Grand Targhee’s consultant, SE Group (a ski industry specialist whose portfolio includes Deer Valley, Breckenridge, and Jackson Hole Mountain Resort) is compiling the EIS documentation on behalf of the Caribou-Targhee National Forest. It will likely be released for a 90-day public comment period this spring.
The EIS is a deep dive into the potential impacts of several alternatives including one that extends the resort permit area well south of the Colter Lift down into Teton Canyon (“South Bowl”) and Mill Creek (“Mono Trees”). These are areas my fellow Teton, Idaho County Commissioner Michael Whitfield, a trained biologist, refers to as “sacred ground."
The Teton County, Idaho Board of County Commissioners submitted general comments during the scoping process associated with the resort’s proposed expansion on public land, and we plan to provide additional comments when the Draft EIS is released. We will also be tracking the application for the 28 luxury cabins on private land as it works its way to commissioners in Teton County, Wyoming in March.
Grand Targhee Resort development is no longer an if or a when. It has started. It is critical for you, as a community member and those who care about the future of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, to get involved to ensure your voice is heard.
To assist you with details of the proposals and how to effectively provide constructive comments, Teton County, Idaho will be hosting our second Town Hall meeting on the Grand Targhee expansion after the Draft EIS is released this spring.
We also encourage you to voice your concerns to the Teton County, Wyoming Commissioners (submit them at this email: commissioners@tetoncountywy.gov) before or during their March 7 public hearing, when they consider the application for 28 cabins.
This critical decision will set a precedent for all future development approvals in the base area. Letting Grand Targhee Resort off the hook on requirements outlined in the Resort Master Plan and associated Land Development Regulations (LDRs) to help them maximize their profit is not in the community’s best interest.
You can find more information on the applications by clicking here. If you would like to provide comments now or be included on our email list for updates on the Grand Targhee Resort expansion, please email us at: tccomments@co.teton.id.us
NOTE: Below take a look at two time-lapse videos. The first shows the intensification of the development footprint in Big Sky, Montana over a couple of decades, transforming an important ecological corner of the Madison Range into a world-class destination that has destroyed wildlife habitat, caused water problems and represents one of the largest speculative real estate plays in Montana. Below that video is a time-lapse video of Teton Valley, Idaho, an agricultural dale that is already dealing with breathtaking spillover effects from Jackson Hole. Many believe that Grand Targhee's expansion would accelerate the same kind of changes that have occurred at Big Sky, at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and giants like Vail where a combination of development footprint and outdoor recreation pressure has beset elk and bighorn sheep populations. Both of the videos do not include what has happened on the land in those communities since the advent of Covid, which has triggered an unprecedented new wave of growth from outsiders moving to the region. Click here to see an overview from Headwaters Economics of how the number of single-family homes in the High Divide Ecosystem tripled between 1963 and 2013 and has, according to experts, accelerated over the last decade.
If you would like to offer a comment to Cindy Riegel's piece, send it along by clicking here. Keep your note on point and we may publish it below.
Why should Teton County, Wyoming benefit while Teton County, Idaho bears the expense?
I am appreciative for Teton County Commissioner Riegel’s overview of concerns. We are lucky to have two other commissioners who also serve their constituents in Teton Valley, Idaho for the right reasons.
Commissioners Whitfield, Riegel, and Heneage all understand that this special place with good fishing, hunting, skiing, water resources, scenery, wildlife, and accessible health care will be forever in the bull’s eye of developers. Riegel’s article raises the question of legality of Wyoming financially benefitting from Targhee’s development while Teton County Idaho suffers a financial burden.
Our Idaho county commissioners have been hyper-vigilant with regard to Grand Targhee’s proposed residential and commercial development on Targhee’s private land. They have also been attentive to Targhee’s proposed expansion in the South Bowl Area and Mono Trees area outside of Targhee’s permitted area.
Why are these areas still on the table in the current Environmental Impact Study (EIS) when Grand Teton National Park supervisors and Wyoming Fish and Game have expressed concern about impacts to wildlife. A ski life in the South Bowl area would be visible form the four most popular trails on the west side of the Tetons. Avalanche control would disturb many winter recreationists in Teton Canyon.
There is an inherent conflict of interest when the US Forest Service conducts an EIS on ski resort expansion. The Forest Service receives fees based on a formula that incorporates lift ticket sales, ski lessons, food, etc based on gross revenues. While a four-person Colter lift was approved by the Forest Service in 1994, permission was given to construct a six- person lift with spaced chairs so as not to exceed the comfortable carrying capacity (CCC) of 5130 skiers. Prior to Colter, the CCC was 2930 skiers.
Grand Targhee has much lower skier densities compared to other resorts. So why are new lifts in an expanded special use area even being considered by the Forest Service? Why disturb pristine Rick’s Basin with a lift?
It seems that the "comfortable carrying capacity" is a nebulous concept that facilitates what is in the ski resort’s best interest. It ignores downstream impacts. The consultant SE Group is paid by the ski resort. This is all analogous to the fox guarding the hen house.
Allowing commercial flights at the Driggs airport would be another elephant in the room. Someone paying between $300 and $1,000 for an airplane ticket is not so concerned when the lift ticket price jumps to two hundred dollars or more.
Howie Garber
Teton Valley, Idaho
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Cindy's article on Grand Targhee is not what the majority of her constituents want, it's what the loud constituents want. Comparing the Ghee to Big Sky, eliminates your credibility instantly. There's no easy way to get to the Ghee. Just do your job Cindy (control what you can control) and make sure Driggs airport never becomes public.
Rob Palmer
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
MoJo replies to Rob Palmer. Thanks for your note, Rob Palmer. We used Big Sky as a reference point, not Cindy Riegel. Cindy actually, in her piece, compared what's proposed at Grand Targhee to the kind of growth that has occurred at destination ski resorts in Colorado. Big Sky once thought of itself as a quaint Montana ski resort (much smaller than the present Driggs-Victor corridor) but it has morphed over time into one of the largest rural development impact zones in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem with multiple kinds of negative impacts ranging from lack of affordable housing to growing wildlife displacement. It's not where a resort destination begins its evolution but the direction it takes over time when large amounts of outside capital transform it into a lucrative real estate play fueling growth that never stops. Big Sky is 45 miles away from Gallatin Field outside of Bozeman. No one 50 years ago ever imagined the spillover effects in Teton Valley, Idaho from Jackson Hole and no one in Bozeman ever imagined the Gallatin Valley being transformed into one of the fastest growing micropolitan cities in America with major spillover effects besetting the Paradise, Shields and Madison valleys. What happens to the functionality of the Driggs-Reed Memorial Airport will also be key to the scale of growth in Teton Valley. Given its setting and the rising number of people fleeing urban areas or seeking to build second homes,Teton Valley is poised, too, to experience explosive growth with Grand Targhee being a catalyst. We're willing to wager that most residents of Teton Valley, who appreciate the special sense of community and place, are not in favor of having it deal with the same kinds of growth issues plaguing Jackson Hole, Big Sky and Bozeman. Again, Rob Palmer, thanks for your note.
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As a skier who has loved Targhee since I first skied there in '07, I am pretty appalled to hear of this expansion. I worked at Targhee for 3 wonderful years and lived in Teton Valley during that time and it was the most magical, wonderful places I've ever lived and worked. The quaint, rural surroundings and funky vibe in Driggs/Victor and the mostly quiet slopes and bountiful snows at Targhee are what make that place so wonderful. Slim and Ol' Ben greeting you at Dreamcatcher and Blackfoot lifts. Some of the greatest days of my life were skiing waist-deep lines down north boundary area and hiking Mary's Nip out to Steve Baugh Bowl.
The charm of Targhee is its low-profile and friendly atmosphere. What is going on there? Please don't turn that quiet, beautiful slice of heaven into a nuisance eye-sore in the Tetons. Thats not why people ski Targhee. Its about being connected to nature and that peaceful harmony that exists there. There is really no need to do that stuff to Grand Targhee. Its so wonderful as it is and Teton Valley is a fantastic community that shouldn't have to worry about the burdens of real estate growth nonsense and housing price crisis. Thank you to Mojo and Cindy Riegel for bringing this issue to my attention. I live in Colorado nowadays and trust me, you don't want even a piece of what is going on down here in Teton Valley. I'd love to live back in the beautiful, confines of Teton Valley but life had other plans for me. That place is a gem and it should stay that way. Targhee is amazing as its always has been. No need for expansions. Sorry Ghee but I disagree.
Phil Bohannon
Longmont, Colorado
About Cindy Riegel
Cindy Riegel is chair of the Teton County, Idaho Board of Commissioners and is a member of the 7th Judicial District Magistrate Commission. She has a diverse professional background and a deep record of community service. Holding a Master of Science degree from the University of Vermont, she has lived in the West for decades. Among her involvement in planning issues was serving on the Economic Development Subcommittee that was part of the process of writing the 2004 Teton County Comprehensive Plan. She also has served on the Teton County Community School Board and the Teton County Planning and Zoning Commission. During a summer in the mid 1990s, she worked as a biological field researcher for the Caribou-Targhee National Forest and has been a consultant to state and federal agencies, private developers and conservation organizations. Cindy Riegel is also a mom of three children.
