A CLIMATE ACTION PLAN IN JACKSON HOLE

SANDY SHUPTRINE

Status as of April 2022

In accordance with the Town of Jackson (TOJ) April 6, 2020 Resolution; the TOJ/Teton County (TC) Joint Comprehensive Land Use Plan; and Town of Jackson’s budgetary goals for sustainability, our community’s aspirational goal is Carbon Neutrality by 2030. Out of it, a new non-profit, Jackson Hole Climate Action Collective (JHCAC) was formed and soon developed a collaborative arrangement for staffing with Legacy Works consultants. A draft Roadmap is the current work project of JHCAC, intended for review and input from stakeholders and the general public.

The Jackson Hole Roadmap is a set of strategies and actions that could, and aspire to, guide decision makers in the Town of Jackson and Teton County, Wyoming. Consideration may be given to Teton Valley, Idaho, adjacent public lands, travel corridors, and gateway communities to achieve greenhouse gas reduction and its impact on the planet. It addresses both root causes of fossil fuel use and other contributors to environmental degradation. The Roadmap urges and incentivizes businesses, tourists, and residents, through voluntary efforts and public/private partnerships to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel use as well as promote sustainability in all vital sectors.

Carbon neutrality may best be achieved by overall reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, including methane. Residents, businesses, and community leaders working together will need to continue shaping the valley’s development and preserving our natural environment and wildlife, while considering economic opportunity and quality of life, for current and future generations.

Building on past achievements, the Roadmap urges future actions. It is divided into seven climate sectors. Transportation, water, energy use, energy supply, waste, visitation, and vegetation/forests. Possible prescriptions for each sector should include considerations of social equity, affordability, community health and safety, economic vitality, and recovery from natural disasters. The Roadmap is presently in draft form and may soon come to a public meeting near you for feedback and your ideas.