Back to StoriesEpic Challenges Are Gripping Jackson Hole But For Hank Phibbs Surrender Is Not An Option
August 14, 2017
Epic Challenges Are Gripping Jackson Hole But For Hank Phibbs Surrender Is Not An OptionJackson Hole is unlike any other place in Greater Yellowstone and Phibbs, who is a conservationist-lawyer-musician-recreationist-former politician, helps make sense of what's happening there.
Wyoming natives Hank Phibbs, who operates a law practice,
and Leslie Petersen, a conscientious realtor and daughter of a dude rancher,
are both former Teton County commissioners. They are also key early figures in
the dawn of the post-Earth Day 1970 environmental movement in Jackson Hole.
Simultaneously “west bankers” and “east bankers” today, the
Jackson Hole couple lives on the west bank of the Snake River in Wilson yet
their home is on the eastern flanks of Fish Creek which flows southward out of
the Tetons. While Jackson Hole in the 21st
century is becoming an ever solidifying bastion for more progressive political
attitudes, Phibbs and Petersen are well versed in the struggles of the
Democratic Party in the state.
We welcome Phibbs to Mountain Journal and look forward his
observations of how one of the wealthiest per capita counties in the United
States struggles to maintain its once-famous lack of social pretension and
close ties to nature.
HENRY “HANK” PHIBBS: I have lived in Jackson Hole since
1972. Over the span of 45 years, I have
witnessed it evolve from a small town summer tourism economy in a landscape
whose private open lands were ranch lands operated by old time families, into a
sophisticated four season economy with world class cultural amenities, with
direct airline connections to 13 major cities.
I have witnessed and participated in the development of a strong
conservation and pro-planning community ethic which has spurred the protection
of important wildlife habitat and scenic vistas.
MOJO: More than three decades ago, you were among a
group of citizens who advanced the concept of the Greater Yellowstone
Ecosystem, believing that conservationists, public land managers, local
governments and the varying stakeholders needed to engage in bioregional
thinking to save species like grizzly bears. What has worked and what
hasn't?
PHIBBS: Before GYC was formed, a small group of us met for
a year at various locations such as Driggs, Bozeman and Jackson to develop a
shared vision of what kind of organization the GYC should be and what kinds of
larger landscape issues it should work on and advocate for. It was not tied to specific species. The core
idea was to gain public understanding and recognition of the larger Greater
Yellowstone landscape and the natural resources and issues that stretched
across jurisdictional boundaries. There
is a greater public understanding of the larger landscape but functional larger
landscape management is still not a management reality.
MOJO: The Teton County Commission, on which you served
as an elected official, is by far the most forward-thinking county commission
among the 20 in the Greater Yellowstone region. And yet despite a high
level of public awareness about the necessity of good land use planning to save
natural values, Teton County faces enormous challenges. What are some of
the big ones that people from beyond Teton County might not be aware of.
PHIBBS: Teton County’s greatest challenges have always
been, are and will continue to be based on and driven by extremely limited
appropriate space for development and extreme growth pressures, along with
landscape-limited transportation corridors.
MOJO: Why do you think there is so much animosity
toward Teton County and Jackson Hole by the rest of the state. The
anti-environmental sentiment also seems ironic given how conservation has been
a huge driver of reliable economic prosperity, the kind that has eluded much of
Wyoming?
PHIBBS: As someone who grew up elsewhere in Wyoming, I am
familiar with the xenophobic attitudes that people around Wyoming have about
Jackson Hole. It is different from the
rest of Wyoming both in terms of its landscape and its culture. The economy and culture of the rest of
Wyoming are mineral and agricultural based, in contrast to the economy and culture
of Jackson, which are landscape, wildlife, recreation and tourism based.
MOJO: You are married to Leslie Petersen, who grew up
on a famous dude ranch near Dubois, is, like you, a naturally-evolved
conservationist and who ran for governor against Matt Mead. When the two
of you visit, what are some of the areas where you think the press has really
fallen down on the job in its coverage of issues related to Wyoming's future
and protection of the assets that sets our region apart the world over?
PHIBBS: Although Leslie and I have not discussed your
question, my sense is that there is no
natural press voice for the Greater Yellowstone. The papers in the communities around the
Greater Yellowstone are naturally focused on their local issues and perspectives
and there is no publication that speaks to and for the larger landscape and its
cross jurisdictional, watershed and migrational perspective and issues. It is my hope that the Mountain Journal can
fill that void.
MOJO: Your late father, Brendan, was a decorated World
War II veteran who served wounded soldiers on the front lines and was among the
liberating forces at the Dachau concentration camp. Like your Dad, you
are tenacious. Your father gave you advice early in your life. Do
you find that mantra valid in thinking about the enormous challenges that are
bearing down on Greater Yellowstone and what advice would you impart to young
people?
PHIBBS: When my siblings and I would complain about
something in our father’s company he would often reply that “Surrender is not
an option.” I have been inspired by
that approach in many aspects of my life and share it with younger folks in the
next generation.
EDITOR'S NOTE: In photo at top, Hank Phibbs, right, and Todd Wilkinson, founder of Mountain Journal, discuss issues facing Jackson Hole at the 2014 SHIFT Festival in Jackson Hole. Photo by David J. Swift
Related Stories
November 1, 2018
Stacking The Deck? House Democrats Say GOP Giving Industry Too Much Influence On Capitol Hill
New report says fossil fuel interests dominate hearings on issues affecting American West
August 14, 2017
Citizen Crawford Doesn't Believe In Mincing Words
Defying labels: Whether he's in his office on Main Street in Bozeman or farming in the Gallatin Valley, columnist T.H. Crawford...
August 14, 2017
David J Swift Comes Out Of Retirement To Deliver MoJo Social Commentary
Longtime Jackson Hole photographer, writer and musician David J Swift brings his critical eye and punchy rhetorical pugilism to MoJo....