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Jackson, Wyoming
Wednesday, April 25, 2012 ▲
Grizzly counts under review
One dollar
Herd mentality
In effort to show species is healthy, managers seek to shrink area where bear deaths are counted. By Cory Hatch Grizzly managers have proposed new ways to count bears and bear deaths in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem that could make it easier to end federal protection of the species. In the absence of accurate grizzly bear demographics, the changes are expected to increase the estimated number of bears in the population while decreasing the estimated number of mortalities, experts say. The idea surfaced at a meeting of Yellowstone area grizzly mangers in Teton Village last week. The current method for estimating the size of the grizzly population — by counting females with cubs of the year from the air and ground and by trapping — is inaccurate, USGS biologist Mark Haroldson said at the gathering last week. The mathematical formula estimates the population at between 533 and 652 animals, but Haroldson said it is likely larger. While the math worked well when the population was small, the formula is obsolete now that the numbers have grown, he said. “We have a conservative population estimate,” he told the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee’s Yellowstone group. “We know [the method] is biased low, and it becomes more biased at higher population numbers.” With the new method, biologists would count females with cubs using See GRIZZLY on 22A
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Wolf howls in nearby Grand Teton National Park on Sunday send elk running along the Gros Ventre Road. With spring here and snow melting from the hills and mountains, wapiti are following their annual migration pattern from the National Elk Refuge into the national park.
Hospital CEO: Do more Hochheiser is looking for ‘sweet spot’ where the community, the hospital and doctors can all benefit. By Tram Whitehurst Dr. Louis Hochheiser, a Jackson resident, says he understands how important a viable hospital is to the community. St. John’s Medical Center is already one of the largest employers in Teton County, and it provides much-needed medical services to thousands of residents and visitors each year. But Hochheiser, who was announced as St. John’s new CEO last week, thinks it can do even more. He wants the hospital to engage residents more than it has in the past and to become a community center for health and wellness.
Some people may think St. John’s is not interested in the community, he said, but he wants them to understand what the hospital can do for them. “My message to the community would be that St. John’s will be a place that serves the people,” said Hochheiser, who for the past three years has served as senior advisor to the board. “So that means it’s going to be a pleasant place to go with a good feeling. Also, the quality will be something the community will be proud of. “It’s about finding the sweet spot where the community benefits, doctors benefit, and the hospital benefits. That Hochheiser makes it a win, win, win.” Hochheiser, 75, was offered the hospital’s top job last Wednesday after the board of trustees voted unanimously in his favor. Board President Michael Tennican said he See HOSPITAL CEO on 21A
Nearing end, officials dodge land-plan specifics New comprehensive plan slated for May 8 vote. By Kevin Huelsmann As town and county officials near a vote on a new land-use plan, they face calls to make it more specific, leave open the chance for a referendum and address concerns that have dogged the document for months. Five years in the making, the docu-
Inside
ment will go before the Jackson Town Council and Teton County Board of Commissioners on May 8. To the end, even the approval process has remained divisive, as some community members want the town to pass the document as an ordinance so it can then be challenged by referendum. “We’re not trying to get in the middle of whether the plan is good for the town or bad for the town,” valley attorney Peter Moyer said. “It’s more about the value of voting.” 2A 2A 3A
Cadillac intrigue Commercial values jump Jumping to help hearts
Moyer is part of the Village Road Coalition, a nonprofit made up of west bank residents. Like many in the valley, members of the group want to see if the plan has broad support outside the elected officials who have been slaving to finish the document. “Before they go into the [land-development regulation process], they should see if people in town want this basic framework,” Moyer said. Elected officials say that once they adopt the plan, its policies will be 8A 9A 9A
Crash victims released Trailer owner cited Perry will run
used to update town and county landuse regulations. Last week, town and county officials released a 94-page document that reveals an internal analysis planning staff did of how much development the new plan might allow. The documents, released in response to a request from Save Historic Jackson Hole, show some of the most specific growth estimates that have been released since 2009. The estimates show the town could See LAND-PLAN SPECIFICS on 22A
10A Classes exceed state limits 12A Fire plan challenged 17A Coke charge arrest