GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK — Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) announced the decision to move forward with construction of a separated multi-use pathway along the Moose-Wilson corridor, a reversal of the decision made in 2016.
The amendment to the Record of Decision for the Moose-Wilson Corridor Comprehensive Management Plan was signed Friday by National Park Service Acting Intermountain Regional Director Bert Frost. The move falls under President Trump’s July 2025 Executive Order “Making America Beautiful Again by Improving Our National Parks,” which stated an intention to improve recreational access in the parks.
“We remain committed to providing appropriate recreational opportunities while maintaining the natural and cultural resources that sustain a healthy, functioning ecosystem,” GTNP Superintendent Chip Jenkins said in the announcement. “We are balancing visitor access with long-term stewardship.”
The amendment includes a decision to realign part of Moose-Wilson Road between Sawmill Ponds and Death Canyon Road. The winding road connecting Teton Village to the Moose entrance of GTNP has seen a number of construction projects over the past few years, including work currently underway to realign the road’s intersection with Teton Park Road. The park will now start developing a project timeline and surveying the area’s topography.
“The amended decision also includes refinement and mitigation measures to reduce impacts to wildlife, wetlands and cultural resources, including locating the pathway as close to the roadway as practicable to minimize disturbance,” GTNP’s announcement states. “In accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, the NPS worked with the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Officer, federally recognized Tribes and other consulting parties to develop a Programmatic Agreement. The park also coordinated with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to evaluate potential impacts on wetlands and prepare a Wetlands Statement of Findings.”
Proponents of expanded bicycle access in the valley celebrated the news. Nonprofit Friends of Pathways has long supported improved connectivity between Teton Village and the park, especially involving alternatives to vehicles.
“We’ve been advocating for a pathway on the Moose-Wilson Road for 30 years,” Friends of Pathways Communications and Advocacy Director Sam Petri told Buckrail. “And we think this Record of Decision is a win for people who like to walk and bike in the park and for the environment.”
Others expressed concern for potential impacts to wildlife in the area. Renee Seidler, executive director of the Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation, noted that the pathway could disrupt delicate riparian habitat. She thinks the presence of humans in the area would be more distressing to wildlife than current automobiles; she sees the likelihood of human-wildlife conflict potentially increasing, noting that people are relatively safe when viewing animals from a car. Species of particular concern would be black bears, grizzly bears, elk and moose, she said.
Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance Executive Director Jenny Fitzgerald expressed a similar concern for human and wildlife safety. She sees the reversal as federal government overreach.
“We’re sending ill-equipped people into one of the densest bear and moose habitats,” Fitzgerald told Buckrail. “To me, it’s really illogical. At what point are we putting recreation opportunities higher than protection of this ecosystem, which is our economic driver? I used to be a wildlife guide. In that section, I’ve seen pretty much every species from the roadway.”
