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Wilderness designation helped shape Teton Valley Future of Wilderness Act dim, long-term unclear
Teton Creek in dispute TVN Photo/Stephen Henderson
Surface Water Coalition sues Grand Teton Canal Company Stephen Henderson TVN Staff
I
t started at canal headgates along Teton Creek. Suspicions grew downstream, triggering years of measurements upstream. Then, more measurements. Dr. Jim Reinertsen, a resident of Alta, Wyoming, said he noticed an uptick in the number of people often gathered around the headgates taking measurements as he drove into town along the
creek. “Someone said there was a lawsuit being filed,” Reinertsen said. “So, I went and looked it up.” Reinertsen’s source was correct. In late July, after three years of measurements and calls to the local water manager, water authorities downriver in the Upper Snake River Basin filed a lawsuit in the Seventh Judicial district court in Teton County against the Grand Teton Canal
Company (GTCC) and John Letham, the canal company’s water manager. The suit alleges that, during the 2010, 2012 and 2013 irrigation seasons, the GTCC diverted water “out of priority and in excess of its authorized diversion rate.” Teton Creek is one of multiple waterways in Teton Valley that flows into the Teton River, a tributary of the Snake River. Like most tributaries of the Snake, Teton Creek’s flows and diversions are closely monitored, and levels are reported to the Idaho Department of Water Resources. For the 2012 irrigation season alone, the lawsuit alleges, GTCC used roughly 5,241 acre-feet of water from Teton Creek “that would have otherwise been used by senior water right holders downstream.” Damages sought by the plaintiffs amount to $35,000 for each of the canal companies. A preliminary hearing is expected for mid-November. Canal continued on A16
Scott Stuntz TVN Staff It was 50 years ago this month that Congress passed the Wilderness Act, and 30 years ago that Wyoming declared 116, 535 acres of land of the western slope of the Tetons as the Jedediah Smith Wilderness area. Ralph Mossman, who was on the taskforce to establish a management plan for the newly-made wilderness area, said that at the time some people in the area were for the designation and some were against it. That hasn’t changed much. “It’s almost like bringing up religion in a public setting,” said longtime valley resident and snowmobiler Wade Kaufman. “You just don’t bring it up; somebody’s going to get into a fight.” From a practical standpoint, he said the designation closed off some prime snowmobiling terrain. “It hurt the snow adventurist, because he lost all the challenging snowmobiling on the east side of the Tetons,” he said. Kaufman said he is an environmentalist, and recognizes the drive to do something to protect wild places but he disagreed with the way the map of the wilderness area was drawn. He said boundary lines cross drainages making it difficult to navigate areas near the wilderness without accidently crossing the border. After 30 years, Kaufman said passionate views remain in the valley about the designation. Guide and naturalist with Jackson based Hole Hiking Experience Jill Leblanc leads trips into several wilderness areas including the Jedediah Smith Wilderness. She said clients come from across the country Wilderness continued on A16
Forest Service delays wilderness filming rules Scott Stuntz TVN Staff The US Forest Service wants to make permanent some temporary rules for who has to pay – and how much –in order to film on some federal lands. The USFS is extending the comment period on the proposed rule because of intense public concern. Much of the backlash came after several media outlets reported that the public could face $1,000 fines for taking photos on forest service land.
USFS communications chief Larry Chambers said despite what has been reported, the new rules would not affect still photography and would not require average citizens on federal lands to obtain permits before taking personal photos. Instead, Chambers said the rules are designed specifically to regulate commercial filmmaking in wilderness areas with permit costs based on the size of the film crew, ranging from $10 for a three-person crew to $1,500 for
a large-scale film shoot. Teton Valley photographer and filmmaker Jeff Buydos said he was not aware of the permitting issue until a photographer friend sent him a link to the story on a professional photography website. He said the story made him nervous, especially since he started his career shooting on federal lands around Teton Pass. Forest Service continued on A16
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Canal continued from A1 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The plaintiffs, including the Burley Irrigation District, North Side Canal Company, Twin Falls Canal Company and Minidoka Irrigation District and collectively known as the Surface Water Coalition, allege in the suit that the Grand Teton Canal Company diverted water out of turn multiple times over a four-year period. By law, a junior water rights holder such as the GTCC may not divert water out of turn while senior rights holders are in need of water downstream. John Lind has been manager of the Burley Irrigation District, one of the five plaintiffs in the suit, for the last six months. Most of the water diverted in his district, he said, is for growing crops and feeding livestock. Water needs for the latter, he said, have been growing in recent years. But, he said, his district watches their water usage carefully. “Lower down on the system our infrastructure is closely monitored,” Lind said. “We spend a lot of money because we’re
accounted so closely for what we divert.” He said the opposite is true for the upper valley, including Teton Valley, where he said water users have become used to diverting the same amounts they’ve taken in years past. “In many cases they don’t even have the structures or canals to measure the amount of water they’re diverting,” he said. “It can be a point of contention because on the lower end we’re spending millions of dollars to get the latest measurement technology, to update our systems and to monitor levels, while higher up in the system they may not be spending any money at all and possibly getting more [water] than they’re supposed to get.” When water districts are forced to buy water on the open market from the region’s reservoirs due to a lack of natural flows, the costs add up. W. Kent Fletcher, an attorney for the Minidoka Irrigation District, said that the cost to purchase one acre-foot of water at the time under ques-
tion was roughly $17. Each of the plaintiffs in the suit are requesting damages be paid in amounts up to $35,000 for the “willful” over-diversions and for being “deprived of the natural flow of water.” Fletcher said that even when representatives of the Idaho Department of Water Resources’ Water District 1 contacted Letham, he did not end the over-diversions. In a 24-day period in 2013, GTCC allegedly over-diverted 6,193 acre-feet of water. An acre-foot of water is one acre of water to the depth of one foot. Nearby Palisades Reservoir, for example, has a capacity of 1.2 million acre-feet. “It’s hard to set a value on the water,” Fletcher said. “It’s the lifeblood of this valley.” Though Teton Valley News reached out to John Letham, the water manager for the Grand Teton Canal Company, he declined to comment as part of this article. During the irrigation season noted in the suit, Idaho’s Water District 1 con-
tracted Driggs nonprofit Friends of the Teton River as the hydrographer, the entity tasked with measuring water levels in irrigation canals and streams. Amy Verbeten, the nonprofit’s Executive Director, said she thinks the pressure on the area’s water resources will only grow with time. “Changes in agriculture and water delivery down on the Snake River Plain,” Verbeten said, “have increased the desire to look for additional sources of water.” Water levels worry local residents like Reinertsen, who enjoy world-class fishing in Teton Valley. Reinertsen worries that over-diversions in waterways such as Teton Creek spell trouble for fish populations. “Fisherman have explained to me that the connectivity between Teton Creek and the Snake River are important for good breeding of cutthroat trout,” Reinertsen said. “I’m not an expert on water rights, but there’s probably a long and honored tradition of people taking as much water as they can.”
Wilderness continued from A1 ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ to experience “the pristineness” that wild lands provide. “They really enjoy hearing nothing,” she said. “Or hearing the birds and breathing fresh air.” She said it’s important to have areas for motorized use but also to have places that are free from the noise and smell of engines. Bob Hansen, a Tetonia businessman who has lived in the valley, off and on since before congress created the Jedediah Smith Wilderness said that he thinks public reaction to the designation would be different today than in 1984. “I don’t think everybody knew what they were getting,” he said. Hansen said that if the wilderness was proposed now, there would be a similar reaction to that from Fremont County residents about proposed national monument status for the Island Park Caldera. There has been significant opposition to the idea, including citizens groups formed to oppose monument status and the scrapping of a federally funded “futures study.” “I think you would have gotten the same comments if everyone had been paying attention or had been informed,” he said. Unlike monuments, which are declared through unilateral presidential decree, wilderness designations are made by Congress. Across Idaho the likelihood of creating new wilderness, or any other types of federal lands, seems low in the current political climate. Last year the Idaho legislature established a committee to look at ways the state could demand that federal lands be turned over to state control. As of Sept. 29, Idaho has paid $61,375 for the committee’s legal expenses. That’s according to a freedom of information act request filed by Spokane, Washington newspaper, the Spokesman-Review. State Senator John Tippets voted for the committee, he said, because he wanted to see if
the state could do a better job managing some of the lands than federal agencies. State Representative Tom Loertscher agreed that Idaho could better manage some lands, saying, “We do a better job at forestry.” Also, a proposal to designate the BoulderWhite Clouds area in central Idaho as wilderness was seen as so unlikely to pass congress that many supporters have instead started pushing for President Obama to use his powers under the Antiquities Act to designate the area as a national monument. Craig Gehrke the Wilderness Society's Regional Director for Idaho, said that the current attitude among state lawmakers and the “anti-federal soapbox this legislature keeps crawling up on” makes the likelihood that any new wilderness will be designated in the shortterm unlikely. While he recognizes that the state legislature doesn’t make decisions on wilderness designations, their views do echo a wide-spread antifederal mindset in the state. Nationally, the current US congress poses another hurdle for wilderness bills. “It’s hard to say let’s get wilderness passed when we can’t get budget bills passed,” Gehrke said. He said that he thinks more long term, wilderness areas can gain support in conservative states including Idaho. Gehrke acknowledged that local support and grassroots efforts are even more important now that congressional support is less likely. There is another proposed wilderness near Teton Valley, the 135,800 acre Palisades Wilderness Study Area south of Teton Pass. While Idaho endorsed it in 1990, there are no bills in congress to designate a permanent wilderness area. In fact there have been no new wilderness designations in Wyoming since the Jedediah Smith Wilderness was created.
What's in a name? TVN Staff (circa 1984) The following article was published in the Teton Valley News on Oct. 11 1984 just as the Wyoming Wilderness Bill, which designated the Jedediah Smith Wilderness was passed by congress.
Choice of names confusing
H
istory books remember Jedediah Smith as a great mountain man and pathfinder. Ironically however, there is no evidence that he ever traveled through Teton Basin. The son of a New Hampshire methodist, Jedediah Strong Smith (1799-1831) traveled west as a young man and earned a reputation as a fur trapper and guide. At 25 years-old he was credited with opening up South Pass, allowing settlers to migrate to California and Oregon. He was also the first man to lead a party from Utah to California, crossing both the Great Salt Lake Desert and Mojave Desert in 1826. His men described him as being “half grizzly and half preacher.” According to local historian Wendell Gillette, who conducted research on Smith, there is no evidence that he ever explored
this area. Gillette described him as being “a great character and noted mountain man” but had no ties with Teton Valley. The fact brings up the issue of why then, did Congress name 116,535 acres in northwest Wyoming after him? No one could really answer that question, or so it seems. Ann Matejko, information officer for the Targhee National Forest, said that no one is sure where the suggestion of Jedediah Smith’s name originated from. She said that the Forest Service had suggested calling the west slope area, “the Rendezvous Wilderness” in remembrance of the mountain man gatherings. That suggestion evidently disappeared somewhere back in Congress, however. Jedediah Smith’s life ended in 1831 when he was killed by a band of Comanches in the Southwest. An unknown eulogist wrote that Smith was “a man whom none could approach without respect, or know without esteem. And although…none can tell where his bones are bleaching, he must not be forgotten.”
Forest Service continued from A1 ________________________________________________________________________________________________
“It’s kind of a big deal for me,” he said. “The In an interview with the Oregonian newspapass is kind of how I built my business.” per, US Forest Service Chief Todd Tidwell said Eric Daft, cinematographer and lead editor that news organizations would be completely with Victor-based Fisher Creative said before he exempted from the rules and not need permits. came to work with the company he released a ski That was a change from interviews given to the DVD with some sequences shot on wilderness Oregonian only two days earlier, in which acting wilderness director Liz Close said only certain land. After viewing the film, the USFS wanted him to retroactively pay a fee of hundreds of news gathering activities, such as breaking news, dollars a day for his footage. Instead of paying would be exempted from the policies. the fees, he stopped selling the film. Chambers called Tidwell’s comments a clariOwner of Fisher Creative, Mark Fisher said fication, rather than a change in policy. he is all for rules that protect wilderness areas To obtain permits on both national forest but the proposed rule is “wrought with contraor wilderness land, filmmakers must contact dictions” and some of the definitions of what their location ranger district to obtain a special will and will not require permits are unclear. use permit. Specifically he said rules surrounding what con“We do issue filming permits and we are one stitutes advertisements for goods or services, of the more popular areas to film because of our which would require permits, are super vague. backdrop in the Caribou Targhee,” Teton Basin TVN File Photo/Ken Levy Both Daft and Fisher said any rules need District Ranger Jay Pence said. Visits to South Teton Trail start with excellent views of snowmelt creeks running to clear. The original deadline for comment was Nov. through the forest, well into August. By about mid-September, many of these “The permit structure should be clear, be easy slow to a trickle. 3, but it has been extended. to follow and not discriminate,” Fisher said. He “It is my understanding that to ensure that referred to the fact that still photography and all members of the public who have an interest sold for a profit. film operate under different rules, even though in wilderness access have the opportunity to Under the temporary rules, which have been in effect be heard, the agency is extending the comment period both activities can have equally serious impacts on nature. What counts as commercial under the rule this debat- since 2010, at least two news crews have been denied on the proposed directive to Dec. 3, 2014,” Pence said. able. Chambers said that if a film-shoot’s main goal is access to film on forest service land, including one from “And plan to set up public meetings to answer questions to promote the wilderness or inform the public, then Oregon Public Broadcasting and the other from Idaho from the public, including journalists and members of the shoot is not commercial, even if the final product is Public Television. wilderness groups.”
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New ski company calls Victor home minutes on the press, Wells said, each pair Stephen Henderson of skis will emerge as stiff, layered messes TVN Staff of wood, metal and epoxy. Later, they’ll be It’s OK; the Wells brothers have done cut, shaped, sanded, edged, this before. waxed and sold. They did it in Portland, On Nov. 5 from 6 until Oregon, where younger 8 p.m., the trio will hold It’s completely brother Peter Wells, 25, an open house for the said, “They don’t buy skis.” different here. community at the new Fair enough for a city where It’s a sport location. Already, the the closest resort is over an 5,000-square-foot shop is that’s a lot hour away. a dramatic improvement They did it despite “difabout passion. from the space where they ferences of vision” with their worked in Portland, giving You’ve got to former partner at Deviation them room to move large be close to it. skis. But now, after they were quantities of skis and grow _______________ bought out earlier this year, their operation. the brothers are at it again, Peter Wells “We can go small or big with the help of Hannah Van Sego Skis in this room,” Tim Wells, Arsdell. This time, they’re 32, said. “Hopefully we starting Sego Skis—the can scale to 4,000 [pairs first-ever ski manufacturer of skis] a year.” in Teton Valley—out of a Luckily, there’s no shop in Victor. And, so far, they’re happy shortage of labor in the valley. Already, about where Sego has landed. Wells said, they’ve heard from many who “It’s completely different here,” Peter are interested in building skis for Sego. Wells said. “It’s a sport that’s a lot about It’s a big win for the Teton Valley Busipassion. You’ve got to be close to it.” ness Development Center, where Brian Wells stood near a freshly welded ski McDermott has been working since the press, where sections of fire hose will act fall of 2013 to persuade recreation techas air bladders to give the skis their prenology businesses to make the move to cise rocker and camber profiles. After 30 this corner of Idaho. He said he’s written
TVN Photo/Stephen Henderson
Peter Wells demonstrates Sego's infrared waxes inside the company's Victor shop.
dozens of letters to businesses pitching the valley as a great place to do live, do business and recreate. “They initially ignored [the email],” McDermott said. But Van Arsdell convinced the brothers to take a look at the valley and they obliged. Their June visit included coffee with Mayor Zach Smith at Fitzgerald’s bicycles, lunch with local
Idaho farmers suffer, Teton Valley dodges bullet “First of all there is a massive Scott Stuntz corn crop this year and everyTVN Staff thing follows corn,” he said. A wet harvest and weak We’re far from Eborn, who is also an econonational markets are commist, said that other commodity a clear picture bining to make a bad year for crop prices tend to follow corn Idaho farmers, specifically those of the 2014 prices to some extent and that growing wheat and barley. Teton means lower returns on wheat harvest. County farmers, however, will and barley. _______________ fare a bit better than growers in Around the region, much of nearby counties. Kelly Olson, the barley intended to be used as “We lucked out,” said Unimalt—one of the main ingrediadministrator with versity of Idaho Extension Agent ents in beer and whiskey—began the Idaho Barley for Teton County Ben Eborn. to sprout on the plant, making it Commission “People here didn’t get hit as unusable for that purpose. This hard as the counties to the west means farmers instead have to sell of us.” their crops for animal feed, which He said farmers around Twin means a much lower return on Falls, American Falls and Idaho investment. Falls may see returns as little as half of what Kelly Olson, an administrator with the Idaho they were hoping for. Across the nation comBarley Commission, gave rough estimates of modity prices and especially corn prices have what a farmer can expect to receive for feed been falling as well. Crops continued on A16
entrepreneur Amy Hatch and Driggs mayor Hyrum Johnson, and a personal tour of Grand Targhee Resort with owner Geordie Gillette. “When you combine all those delightful interactions, it left a wonderful impression on them,” McDermott said. “With Sego continued on A16
What is the character of rural towns? Scott Stuntz TVN Staff What does rural Idaho look like? That is the question the Idaho Rural Character Survey is hoping to answer. The survey is part of the thesis of University of Idaho Landscape Architecture graduate student Jase Brooks. “Are you feeling anxious about the rapid changes facing Idaho’s rural communities?” Brooks wrote in a letter accompanying the survey. “Maybe you’ve felt that your culture or way of life has been disrespected or threatened by new rural developments or the people moving into them.” Specifically Brooks wants to look at differences between incorporated and unincorporated rural towns. In Teton County that means comparing Tetonia, Driggs and Victor to communities like Bates, Cache, Clawson, Darby and Sam. “Is there a difference between small incorporated towns and small un-incorporated [towns],” Brooks said, “and what peoples’ preferences are?” The survey has two parts, a cognitive study to help determine what people believe rural areas look like and a photo questionnaire to determine what rural people’s preferences are for their communities. The survey is open till the end of the month. The results will Rural towns continued on A16
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Sego continued from A1__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ the amount of investment they’re making and the beginning four or five jobs they’ve brought to the valley, it promises to be the beginning of something quite nice.” What’s more, they saw local businesses—like telemark binding company Twenty-Two Designs, CAST Touring and outerwear company Burgess Custom—and realized they were growing both locally and internationally. “We realized they were all making this work,” Peter Wells said. In one corner of the machine shop, a waist-high contraption sits ready to make slow passes back and forth with a red light. Tim Wells said it’s the only infrared waxer that he knows of this side of the Tetons. In addition, he said, they’ll be using a new stone to edge each pair of skis. The trio will also have a small retail storefront, along with waxing and tuning, available to the public. “We want to be open to the community and have a reason for them to come,” Wells said. This season Sego will debut five ski models, ranging in price from $700 to $900. Wells knows not everyone will be up for purchasing a brand-new set of skis
Peter Wells shows off the new ski presses at Sego.
this year, but hopes they’ll give them a try at the nearby resorts. Regardless, he and his younger brother are excited to
TVN Photo/Stephen Henderson
TVN Photo/Stephen Henderson
From left, Tim Wells, Peter Wells and Hannah Van Arsdell
start making and testing shred sticks. And, luckily, they’ve done this before. “We’ve jumped into the deep end,” he
said, “but we know how to swim.”
Crops continued from A1_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ barley compared to malt barley. She said malt barley sells for 13 cents per hundredweight while high quality feed barley only goes for 5 cents, and that much of the feed barley in the region is definitely not high quality. Despite the damage done by the late season rain, many farmers will have to pay for losses themselves, without the help of federal crop insurance. Crop insurance policies are set up well to compensate farmers when drought or disease cuts how much of a crop they can produce. These policies are not set up to pay farmers when they produce the normal amount of
their crop when it's not in good shape. “We didn’t lose bushels, we had an excellent year,” Olson said. “What we lost was quality and quality provisions are all over the map.” Tom Hill farms barley and wheat west of Driggs. He didn’t plant much barley this year but his wheat crop was damaged, some if it severely, by the rain this fall. He said he won’t know how bad the rain will affect his profits until he knows how much—or if—his crop insurance policy will pay out. He agreed that figuring that out is not as straight forward as if it were his yields that were affected. He said the quality of the wheat is
what determines if he has to sell it for feed. Unfortunately for Hill, insurers use different quality standards than wheat buyers. “They’ll agree you had quality issues, but you don’t know if they’ll pay out,” he said. Until farmers find out what they will get for their water-damaged crops and how much, if any, insurance will pay out, Olson said it is unclear how bad this fall will be for producers. She said initial estimates put returns down around 60 percent from what was expected. “We’re far from a clear picture of the 2014 harvest,” Olson said.
Rural towns continued from A1_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ be a part of Brooks’ thenear unincorporated sis, which will be pubtowns, often times want People from lished by the University amenities like paved outside of rural of Idaho along with his streets, curbs and sidethesis. He also hopes to walks that are usually communities use publish the results in a not associated with rural the landscape, rural design or rural studliving. ies journal as well. He said the people not the culture Brooks said while moving to rural areas of a community incorporated towns often do so not for the have city governments communities themto assign rural that can institute rules to selves, and are not that character to a help limit development interested in maintainand protect rural charing whatever rural charplace. acter, unincorporated acter that already exists. _______________ towns have to rely only “There is a simple Tom Hill on county policies. explanation for why Driggs barley and wheat “Counties a lot of this happens,” Brooks times are not writing for wrote in his letter. Farmer settlements but for land “People from outside of use,” he said. rural communities use Brooks also said that the landscape, not the people moving into outlying areas, in or culture of a community to assign rural
TVN Photo/stephen Henderson
Combines ready for the fall 2014 harvest along Bates-Cedron Road in Driggs.
character to a place.” That recent influx of people is one of the reasons that it’s hard to determine what modern rural towns in Idaho look like.
“[Communities] can be one of those places that has been around since before statehood or it could be a subdivision.”
www.surveymonkey.com/s/ruralidaho
Teton County hires for new public works director Rachael Horne TVN staff On Wednesday, Teton County announced the hiring of Darryl Johnson for the position of Director of Public Works. Johnson will work part-time beginning Oct. 31 as he transitions from his current employer Jorgensen Associates, and will be full time by Dec. 1. This position oversees the Road & Bridge Department, the Solid Waste Department and works very closely with the Planning Department in the review of surveys, plats and infrastructure development. Former engineer Jay Mazalewski resigned in August after the BOCC discussed eliminating or reducing his position. The board eventually decided to keep Mazalewski, with commissioner Sid Kunz citing issues with his management style. Commission chairman Kelly Park had said he thought there could be some cost sav-
ings by either eliminating the position or moving it to part-time. Park said on Wednesday morning that he voted in favor of hiring Johnson after listening to his fellow commissioners. Commissioner Kathy Rinaldi said county policy is to typically hire at 86 percent of the market rate. They offered the position to Johnson at 100 percent of the market rate because they wanted to make a competitive offer and felt he was the right candidate that the community would trust. Johnson will be making roughly $10,000 more than his predecessor. Park said that’s more than Mazalewski but less than what the county’s first ever engineer, Lou Simonet was making. Rinaldi said even though they would be paying more, the commissioners felt it was justified because it would offer the county stability. By not filling the position or waiting longer to fill the position, possibly at a lower salary, she said it could potentially
cost the county even more than that extra salary because there were so many projects that needed the supervision of the engineer/ public works director. The county has had to hire contact engineers to work on projects such as a possible new Packsaddle road since Mazalewski resigned. “It was never about cost savings with me,” said commissioner Sid Kunz. “It was about cost wasting.” He said under Mazalewski there were decisions being made that cost the county a significant amount of money. He pointed to there being no gravel at the Felt pit. He said all summer, every time they had to haul gravel to the north part of the county it cost extra money. Since the operation over road and bridge falls under the department of public works he said it was Mazalewski’s decision making that was costing the county money. Kunz said Johnson was a well-respected
member of the community and he was excited to have him on board. “He’ll add a level of trust and capability to the county,” said Kunz. Park agreed that Johnson’s personal stake in the community is a plus, and that coupled with his managerial skills will make him a good fit for public work’s director. Johnson has 13 years of experience as a civil engineer. He served on the Planning & Zoning Commission from 2010 – 2013 and was instrumental in the writing of the Comprehensive Plan, which includes the Transportation Plan for Teton County. Most recently, Darryl served on the 2014 Road Committee. Johnson and his wife Debra moved to Teton Valley in 2007. They have two children, a son who graduated from Teton High School in 2013 and is enrolled at Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake, Washington, and a daughter currently a junior at THS.
105 YEARS
Teton Valley News - October 23, 2014 - Page B1
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TVN Photo/Stephen Henderson
A thank-you note inside Walker's Victor shop.
Te ton
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B1teton valley news - October 23, 2014
Artisans
call Teton Valley home
Stephen Henderson TVN Staff
THE SILVERSMITH
I
nside a squat building on Depot Street in Driggs, Alexandra Paliwoda pulled a bright hot bar of steel out of her forge and placed it on her power hammer. Over and over, the 2,000-pound device raised and lowered its hammer head on the steel, lengthening it. In moments, Paliwoda removed the bar, hammered by hand into one half of a heart. Soon, the heart was complete, one of thousands she’s made, attached to horseshoes and sold as trivets. Paliwoda is one of a handful of Teton Valley residents who’s making a living at a skilled trade. She’s been working with metal for 14 years. Now, online retailers have sold thousands of trivets she has hammered out for $50 each. Before she bought the power hammer, Paliwoda had to lengthen or “draw” out the steel piece by piece. “I went to my masseuse and she said my back was actually misaligned,” Paliwoda said. But that was before last year’s purchase. Now, with the help of her boyfriend and the powerful hammer, she’s upped the quantity of products she can produce. “I’m still learning a lot,” she said. “It’s always changing. Anytime I have a new idea I have to learn how to make it.” Paliwoda, who began her smithing at Montana State University’s horseshoeing school, has learned to forge everything from knives and belt buckles, to bright steel serving platters and paper towel holders. Once, as she buffed a paper towel holder
TVN Photo/Stephen Henderson
Alexandra Paliwoda bends a piece of steel inside her Driggs smithy.
TVN Photo/Stephen Henderson
Artisans continued on B14
Silversmith Jack Walker holds a batch of bracelets ready to ship.
Page B14 - October 23, 2014 - Teton Valley News
Artisans
105 YEARS
continued from B1______________________
on her bench grinder—one of the last steps of her process—the machine caught the steel, throwing it into her face. “It broke my nose,” she said. Now, Paliwoda’s boyfriend, Christo Johnson, said, a full face mask is requisite gear for working at the grinder. Roughly ninety-percent of Paliwoda’s business goes to online retailing. Some of the remaining business goes to local clients, as well as galleries nationwide. But galleries, she said, don’t really pay. “You get a check for $30 every couple of months,” she said. “As an artist, it’s really hard to create beautiful art and sell it.” Every so often, Paliwoda sends a pallet of 500 trivets to the online marketplace UncommonGoods, with whom she has an ongoing, exclusive contract for the product. Though the process can be monotonous during the busy times—usually late fall and early in the year, to prepare for Christmas and Valentine’s day— Paliwoda and Johnson manage to escape the heat of the forge for a trip abroad or a float down a river. Last week, they prepared to take off for a few days on a rafting trip. Though they’re always planning their next trip, Johnson said they spend lots of money locally, buying recycled steel from Pacific Steel and Recycling. And Johnson is proud of what Paliwoda has accomplished. “The economy has been kind of down,” he said, “and she’s created two jobs.”
THE SILVERSMITH
Paliwoda's anvil and tools.
TVN Photos/Stephen Henderson
You get a check for $30 every couple of months. As an artist, it’s really hard to create beautiful art and sell it. — Alexandra Paliwoda
When Jack Walker began making silver jewelry in his shop in Santa Fe, New Mexico, he had no idea he was creating goods that the rich and famous would someday buy by the box. Now Walker, a resident of Teton Valley for nine years, has an ongoing partnership with Ralph Lauren as a contracted silversmith. He’s pretty sure he’s the only one. “They sell my stuff in Tokyo, Paris, New York, Aspen,” Walker said. “They’re really popular in Asia.” Kid Rock sports Walker’s signature antique-style leather wristband, as does Bruce Springsteen. It was Springsteen, Walker was told, who walked into a Polo store and bought an entire basket of the bracelets to give to friends. Those bracelets, Walker said, retail for anywhere from $350 to $800. Though Walker knows the retailer will mark up and sell his product for hundreds more than they bought it, he’s carved out a living and a life out of his Victor shop. “I ski 100 days a year,” Walker said. “And I don’t miss a powder day; I don’t care what kind of fashion emergency you’re having.” When the leather in Walker’s wristbands wears out, customers can return the product to him for a free replacement. Now, he’s got a box full of worn out leather. After he pours his liquid silver into a small mold and cools it in a bucket of water, Walker takes it to his anvil, where he hammers it into a flat sheet. He’ll turn it into a small decorative piece to add to an accessory, but not before he hammers in his signature, a mark he calls the “Moon over Mountains.” He looks out his window to the Big Hole mountains where, he says, winter storms roll in fast and strong. When the mountains outside his window change each season, the tiny mountains in his signature change, too. “In the winter,” he said, “I put cornices on them.”
A recently finished heart.
Paliwoda hammers a piece of steel at her anvil.
105 YEARS
Teton Valley News - October 23, 2014 - Page B15
A finished piece of silver inside Walker's shop.
I ski 100 days a year. And I don’t miss a powder day; I don’t care what kind of fashion emergency you’re having.” — Jack Walker
Tools in their places inside silversmith Jack Walker's shop in Victor.
Jack Walker hammers a piece of silver inside his Victor shop.
Inside Paliwoda's smithy. Finished platters and buckles on the shelf inside Paliwoda's office.