Moose-Wilson Road construction begins spring 2022

The National Park Service will begin construction activities addressing infrastructure needs in the southern half of the Moose-Wilson Corridor beginning this spring. Public access will be limited to weekends during next summer’s construction activities.

All work will preserve the rustic character of the corridor and provide high-quality visitor opportunities including wildlife and scenery viewing. Work will be completed in phases, with the first phase implemented in 2022-2023, the second phase in 2024-2025, and additional phases designed and implemented in the future.

As part of a multi-year planning process, the park thoughtfully evaluated options to provide the greatest amount of visitor access with the lowest additional cost and construction duration, while providing for the safety of visitors and crews during construction activities.

From Memorial Day to Labor Day, the southern portion of the Moose-Wilson Road from Granite Canyon Entrance to the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve will be closed, except on weekends (7 p.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Monday) and federal holidays. Parking along the road is prohibited. The southern portion of the road will be closed entirely prior to Memorial Day and after Labor Day.

The northern section of the road will remain accessible. Access to the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve and Death Canyon Trailhead will be available from the north, from Moose, Wyoming, during construction. The Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve Center opens for summer operations May 29.

Phase 1 work will include paving the 1.4-mile rough, unpaved section of the road, improvements with the Granite Canyon Entrance including an additional entrance lane to ease backups, improvements at the Granite Canyon Trailhead, including two vault toilets, bench seating, additional parking, improved traffic flow, and decreased roadside parking, improvements with the Poker Flats horse trailer parking area, Kaufmann Creek bridge construction, improved pullouts for vehicles along the road, and new visitor information signage.

The Granite Canyon Trailhead will be closed to all access. Winter access will be available from December 2022 to March 2023. Access to the Granite Canyon trail system, including the Valley Trail, will be available throughout construction from Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. Grand Teton is working in partnership with the Resort and Teton Village Association to provide information about accessing the southeastern part of the park during construction activities.

The majority of the funding for phase 1 work is provided by the Great American Outdoors Act, also known as the Legacy Restoration Act. The cost of implementing phase 1 is approximately $13 million.

Phase 2 is anticipated to begin in 2024 and includes badly needed repair to the Death Canyon access road, improvements of the Death Canyon Trailhead parking, repair of the Death Canyon Junction trailhead parking area, re-alignment of the north section of the roadway, improvements to the new intersection and final landscape/reclamation efforts of the former roadway.

The park considered other construction projects such as the Snake River Bridge replacement on Wyoming Highway 22 and Jackson Hole Airport closure when planning work in the Moose-Wilson Corridor. The park will continue coordination with Wyoming Department of Transportation and Teton County to minimize overall traveler impacts.

A Record of Decision for the Moose-Wilson Corridor Comprehensive Management Plan Environmental Impact Statement was approved in 2016.

Upcoming Public Meeting: 

Grand Teton will host a virtual public information meeting about the Moose-Wilson Road construction project and visitor impacts during construction. The meeting will be held virtually on April 14, 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Visit the park website at go.nps.gov/moosewilson for the meeting link and additional details on the project.



Jeff
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Grand Teton sees busiest year on record for visitation in 2021

Grand Teton National Park hosted 3,885,230 recreation visits in 2021, the highest number of recreation visits for one year in the park’s history. Previously, 2018 had the record for the most recreation visits in a year with 3,491,151. Recreation visits in 2021 exceed the 2018 record by 11% and surpassed the 2018 record in September 2021.

"Ensuring that Americans have the opportunity to enjoy their national parks is a key part of the National Park Service mission and it is clear that people are enjoying Grand Teton National Park at unprecedented levels and in new ways,” said Grand Teton National Park Superintendent Chip Jenkins. “We also have a charge to ensure that the scenery and wildlife that are critical to the Grand Teton experience are protected for future generations of visitors. We are in the early stages of identifying potential issues and impacts of changing visitation and engaging with the broader community and stakeholders to discuss what we, and they, are seeing."

In addition to a record-breaking year, six of the twelve months in 2021 also had their highest ever recreation visits for that month. Record breaking months include: January, March, April, May, June, and July, with July 2021 being the busiest month in Grand Teton’s history with over 800,000 recreation visits.

The top five years for recreation visits in Grand Teton National Park are:

2021—3,885,230
2018—3,491,151
2019— 3,405,614
2017— 3,317,000
2020— 3,289,639* COVID-19 pandemic

Of the top ten national parks for recreation visits, Grand Teton National Park was the seventh highest.

The park has also seen increases in trail use. During the 2021 summer, trail use increased approximately 29%, compared to 2019. Looking back five years ago, since 2017, trail use has increased approximately 49%.

Grand Teton park staff continue to analyze data and studies conducted over summer 2021 to better understand changing visitation trends in the park. Studies include visitor-use and experience studies at Colter Bay, Taggart and Lupine Meadows trailheads, which surveyed visitors in these areas to gain a better understanding of visitor demographics, visitor expectations, and more. Additionally, a parkwide visitor mobility study was conducted this summer to identify common visitor travel patterns and flow. Study results are anticipated in summer 2022.



Jeff
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Bears are emerging from hibernation in Grand Teton National Park

On Sunday, March 13, the first grizzly bear sighting of 2022 was reported in Grand Teton National Park. Now that bears are emerging from their dens, visitors and local communities are encouraged to secure attractants.

Adult male grizzly bears typically emerge from hibernation in March, and females with young usually emerge between April and early May. When bears emerge from their dens, they search for food, which often includes scavenging carcasses of animals that died during the winter. Bears may display aggressive behavior towards humans if approached while feeding on carcasses.

“Bear season has begun, how it ends depends on all of us,” said Grand Teton National Park Superintendent Chip Jenkins. “We welcome the community led effort to work across boundaries to protect bears in Jackson Hole, and we need everyone’s help to remove unsecured attractants from the valley.”

As the grizzly bear population continues to expand in the southern end of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, bears continue to disperse outside of Grand Teton. Visitors and local residents should secure all attractants so bears cannot gain access.

Once a bear receives a human food reward, it can become food conditioned. Over time, food conditioned bears may become bold or aggressive in their attempts to obtain human food. It may be cliché; however, more often than not, “a fed bear is a dead bear.”

Black and grizzly bears may be located anywhere within Grand Teton at any time. While recreating in the park, follow these guidelines:

* Be alert and watch for bears, fresh tracks, or scat.

* Make noise, especially in areas with limited visibility or when sound is muffled.

* Carry bear spray, know how to use it, and keep it readily available.

* Hike and ski in groups of three or more people.

* Do not run, back away slowly if you encounter a bear.

Federal regulations require you to stay at least 100 yards away from bears and wolves and 25 yards from all other wildlife. Learn more about bears, safe bear viewing, and how to properly use bear spray at go.nps.gov/tetonbears. Please report bear sightings within the park to the nearest ranger.



Jeff
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Spring plowing operations begin next week in Grand Teton National Park

Spring plowing will begin in Grand Teton National Park on Monday, March 14. The plowing operations mark the end of over-snow access on the 14-mile section of the Teton Park Road between Taggart Lake Trailhead and the Signal Mountain area.

For safety reasons, visitors may not access the Teton Park Road once plowing operations are underway. Rotary snow removal equipment and plows may be working at any time, and the roadway will be closed to all users at all times until further notice. Skiers and those on snowshoes using areas adjacent to the roadway are cautioned to avoid the arc of snow blown from the rotary equipment because pieces of ice and gravel can be thrown great distances.

The Teton Park Road is anticipated to be accessible to activities such as cycling, roller skating, skateboarding, roller skiing, walking, jogging and leashed pet walking on April 1. There may be non-motorized access from Taggart Lake Trailhead to the Jenny Lake parking area earlier, if conditions allow. Grand Teton will provide updates via the park’s Facebook and Twitter.

The Teton Park Road will open to motor vehicles May 1.

Other park roads such as the Moose-Wilson Road, Signal Mountain Summit Road, Antelope Flats Road, East Boundary Road, Mormon Row Road, Two Ocean Road and Grassy Lake Road remain closed to vehicle traffic when posted or gated in the spring. These roads may close temporarily to accommodate snow removal operations. The opening dates of these roads vary from year to year and are dependent on weather, snow conditions, plowing progress, wildlife activity and road conditions.

The paved multi-pathways in the park are open to use when they are predominantly free of snow and ice.



Jeff
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Yellowstone’s first grizzly bear sighting of 2022

On Monday, March 7, a pilot supporting Yellowstone National Park wildlife research observed the first grizzly bear of 2022. The adult bear was seen walking in a meadow in the west-central part of the park.

The first bear sighting of 2021 occurred on March 13.

Male grizzlies come out of hibernation in early March. Females with cubs emerge in April and early May. When bears emerge from hibernation, they look for food and often feed on elk and bison that died over the winter. Sometimes, bears will react aggressively to encounters with people when feeding on carcasses.

All of Yellowstone National Park is bear country: from the deepest backcountry to the boardwalks around Old Faithful.

"Spring visitors hiking, skiing, or snowshoeing in the park can reduce the chances of encountering bears by avoiding low elevation winter ranges, thermal areas, and south-facing slopes where bears seek out ungulate carcasses and spring vegetation shortly after emerging from winter dens,” said Kerry Gunther, the park's bear management biologist.

While firearms are allowed in the park, the discharge of a firearm by visitors is a violation of park regulations. Bear spray has proven effective in deterring bears defending cubs and food sources. It can also reduce the number of bears killed by people in self-defense.

The park restricts certain visitor activities in locations where there is a high density of elk and bison carcasses and lots of bears. Restrictions will begin in some bear management areas on March 10.



Jeff
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Youth Conservation Program seeking trail crew members for Grand Teton

The Youth Conservation Program is currently seeking trail crew members for the 2022 season in Grand Teton National Park. The YCP is offering a ten-week employment opportunity for teenagers between the ages of 16-19. Applications are due April 23.

While the majority of the work is in trail maintenance, the YCP also collaborates with other park divisions on a variety of resource protection projects including fire management and historic resource preservation. For more information and to apply, please click here. You can also check out this park video:





Jeff
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