The town of Jackson, hub of Teton County, Wyoming and a busy hive of human activity, may look quaint from the sky. However, the tentacles of its tourist-driven economy extend in every direction. Even though 97 percent of Teton County is comprised of public land, intense development pressure on private land has exerted direct impacts on wildlife and community character. A more insidious force is outdoor recreation putting more intense pressure on public lands. While the consequences of that have left many in denial, there is rising social angst over whether the wild essence of the valley can survive, observers say. Photo courtesy EcoFlight (http://ecoflight.org)
The town of Jackson, hub of Teton County, Wyoming and a busy hive of human activity, may look quaint from the sky. However, the tentacles of its tourist-driven economy extend in every direction. Even though 97 percent of Teton County is comprised of public land, intense development pressure on private land has exerted direct impacts on wildlife and community character. A more insidious force is outdoor recreation putting more intense pressure on public lands. While the consequences of that have left many in denial, there is rising social angst over whether the wild essence of the valley can survive, observers say. Photo courtesy EcoFlight (http://ecoflight.org)