JACKSON, Wyo. — As cooler weather sets in, fall colors still persevere under the vista of the Tetons.
According to Grand Teton National Park (GTNP), Jackson Hole’s colors typically peak in early October, depending upon the weather. The month’s milder temperatures has allowed gold, red and even green leaves to hang on. Yellow aspen and cottonwood trees continue to frame the area known as Mormon Row, a Historic District located at the southeast corner of GTNP.
This week’s cold front could now speed up the chlorophyll changing process, causing more leaves to let go of their branches.
The animals are feeling the cooler temperatures as well, and are beginning to travel warmer regions. From mid-October through November, hundreds of pronghorn antelope migrate from their summer habitat in Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) to their winter range in the Green River Valley of southwestern Wyoming.
According to GTNP, the “Path of the Pronghorn,” is one of the last long-distance land animal migrations in the world. For over 6,800 years, the Teton herd’s biannual journey includes crossing four major rivers, the New Fork, the Green, the Gros Ventre and the Snake, through a 9,000 foot pass in the Gros Ventre Mountains, and two wildlife overpasses on US Highway 191.
There has been a local and state-wide effort to assist the pronghorn in their arduous journey crossing roads during migration. In March, the Wyoming Department of Transportation completed the design and construction of the nine underpasses and 17 miles of 8-foot tall fencing on both sides of U.S. Highway 189. This region, called the Dry Piney Wildlife Crossing, is an established migratory corridor for mule deer and pronghorn. This past July, Teton County Public Works applied for a grant to help fund three wildlife crossings along North Highway 89.
