GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK — Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) has opened a public comment forum to guide future park management as visitation increases. A public meeting will be held in Jackson this month to collect feedback in person.
In its announcement of the comment period, GTNP shared that park visitation has increased more than 60% “since the mid-2000s,” highlighting the record set in 2021 with 3.9 million recreational visits that year.
“Whether visitation returns to 2021 levels in a year, five years or 20 years, all indications are it will return to, and eventually surpass, that level,” GTNP’s statement reads. “In many ways, 2021 provided a glimpse of what future visitation at Grand Teton will likely look like.”
GTNP also noted that more visitors are using the park’s trail system than they were 10 years ago, and that lakeshore use is continuing to increase.
“These changes have not gone unnoticed by park visitors, partners and friends,” GTNP’s statement said. “In response, park managers are taking a fresh look at visitor use management to clarify what the issues are and how we measure a successful visitor experience, identify potential strategies to achieve success in coordination with the public and stakeholders and chart a course for the next 20 years of visitor use management.”
Questions posed to park users include, “What parkwide desired conditions resonate with you?” and, “Are there types of park experiences and opportunities not represented that should be?”
The public can weigh in at two meetings this month. The first meeting will be held in person at the Teton County Library’s Ordway Auditorium on Tuesday, July 16 from 4 to 6 p.m. The second meeting will be a virtual one, meeting on Tuesday, July 23, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. via the park’s Planning, Environment & Public Comment (PEPC) website. The same material will be presented at each meeting.
Those who can’t attend the meetings can submit comments here. Comments will be accepted through Aug. 12.
For more information, see the Grand Teton National Park Visitor Use and Experience story map.
