Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect that there will not be an opportunity for public comment at the Board of County Commissioners Workshop. Comments can still be submitted via letters sent to the Commissioners.
WILSON, Wyo. — The proposed development for the Stilson Lot, which may include multiple softball and soccer fields, fencing around ball fields, pickle ball courts, housing, recycling, a daycare center and a playground among other things, is raising concerns about how it will compromise wildlife ability to use and move across the landscape.
The Stilson Lot sits at the corner of WY22 and WY390 and is currently the site for two planned wildlife crossing structures as part of the Snake River Bridge Project. These crossings are aimed at creating safe movement corridors for moose, elk, deer and other species and reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions.
According to the Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation (JHWF), Stilson Lot development will increase noise and activity that can disrupt wildlife and encroach on their habitat in a way that substantially compromises their ability to rest, forage and migrate in the area.
“Amenities such as ball fields and retail buildings not only take up habitat that animals will no longer be able to use, but they also mean more cars and more people, equating to even greater disturbance to wildlife,” writes Renee Seidler, executive director of the JHWF. “Wyoming Game and Fish data show extensive seasonal and year-round use of the Stilson Lot by both moose and elk.”
The JHWF is asking community members to speak up on behalf of local wildlife. Letters can be sent to the Commissioners at commissioners@tetoncountywy.gov. The JHWF office can be contacted for any questions at 307-739-0968.
“In this community, where we have committed to preserve and protect the area’s ecosystem to ensure a healthy environment, community and economy for current and future generations, we cannot afford to lose protected habitat,” Seidler writes.
