JACKSON, Wyo. — The Board of County Commissioners (BCC) has officially endorsed one of the two name options duking it out to replace Mount Woodring in Grand Teton National Park (GTNP). At the BCC voucher meeting on Monday, Aug. 11, the board voted unanimously to send a letter recommending Raven Peak replace Mount Woodring.
In the letter addressed to the U.S. Board of Geographic Names (BGN) Domestic Names Committee, the commissioners acknowledge the two potential replacement names to Mount Woodring: Equality Peak and Raven Peak.
The BCC had launched a two-week campaign to engage the public and receive input about the two name options. According to the letter, there was overwhelming community support for the name Raven Peak.
“Ravens live in our community and in GTNP year-round and exhibit incredible intelligence, play an important role in our ecosystem, are adaptable — thriving at high and low elevations, often performing impressive acrobatic maneuvers — and are known to be highly social and playful,” the letter reads.
The BCC does not have the power to change the name of the mountain, which is currently named after the disgraced first superintendent of GTNP. The BCC received public comments on Facebook as well as at County Commissioner meetings.
“Through the public engagement process, many members of our community expressed the name Equality Peak was controversial; and while some had strong support for it, there was considerable opposition,” the letter reads.
The BCC also acknowledged community support for consulting with the indigenous peoples of Wyoming to seek feedback from specific groups or sovereign Tribes, and urged the BGN to do so “through appropriate consultation channels.”
