Bridger-Teton National Forest Plan Symposium scheduled Jan. 16

JACKSON, Wyo. (KIFI) — Everyone who cares about the future of the 3.4 million acre landscape of the Bridger-Teton National Forest is encouraged to attend a Forest Plan Symposium in person or online, scheduled for the evening of Jan. 16, 2024 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Afton, Kemmerer, Jackson and Pinedale.  

The symposium is the first of many opportunities the public will have to be involved as the Forest works to revise the Forest Plan.

To kick-off the plan revision effort, the symposium is designed to be an opportunity for all citizens, organizations, and agencies to learn about forest planning – what it is, why it matters, how the process works, and how to make a difference – from people who have already gone through the process elsewhere and can offer insights from a variety of perspectives.

Forest Supervisor Chad Hudson said he is honored to welcome such a stellar panel of speakers and looks forward to learning from them along with all those who attend.

The panel will feature three members of the national federal advisory committee who helped craft the guidance for implementing the National Forest Planning Rule that provides the framework for revising all Forest Plans. These panelists include Dr. Martin Nie, director of the Bolle Center for People and Forests at the University of Montana, James Magagna, executive vice president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, and Adam Cramer, CEO of the Outdoor Alliance.

Joining them will be RandyL’ Teton, an enrolled member of the Shoshone-Bannack Tribe with deep ancestral ties to NW Wyoming, and Clancy Jandreau, who was involved in the Custer-Gallatin forest planning effort as a student in Montana and now works as a water steward for the Blackfoot Challenge.

The panel and Q&A discussion will be moderated by Dr. Melanie Armstrong, director of the Ruckelhaus Institute at the University of Wyoming.

This free hybrid event will be hosted at four venues around the Bridger-Teton National Forest with invaluable assistance provided by Friends of the Bridger-Teton and is scheduled from 5-8 p.m. Jan. 16, 2024. The in-person venues include the JH Center for the Arts in Jackson, the Civic Center in Afton, the Sublette County Library in Pinedale and the South Lincoln Training & Event Center in Kemmerer.

The panel presentations and discussion will be live-streamed to the four venues and will also be available for those wishing to view it at home.

Although designed to learn from others and not focus on the Bridger-Teton Forest planning effort yet, Forest staff will be available in person at the four venues to visit with attendees about the status of the local effort prior to and after the panel discussion. Light refreshments will be served.

"Everyone who recreates, values wildlife and scenic beauty, ranches, guides, gathers forest products, or otherwise in connected to National Forest public land should attend and learn more about how to become engaged and make a difference for the future," Hudson said.