Council approves ambassador pilot and asks for ecological monitoring plan for Kearns Meadow

The Jackson Town Council on March 17 authorized a staff‑run ambassador pilot for the Karnes Meadow park and directed staff to return with a scope of work and budget to hire an ecologist and summarize available data into an annually updatable report.

Staff background and timeline Planning staff and Tanya Anderson, the town’s ecosystem stewardship administrator, briefed council on the conditional use permit (CUP) approved Dec. 16 that finalized the master plan for Kearns Meadow. The approved master plan includes a 14‑space parking lot with an optional 14‑space expansion, a 10‑foot‑wide paved multi‑use path, 8‑foot unpaved trails, a non‑reservable public restroom and a picnic shelter, and winter grooming routes with marked poles. Parks and Recreation staff expect to release a design RFP in spring 2025, begin design in summer/fall 2025, break ground in spring 2026 and open the park in fall 2026.

Advisory committee and ambassador options Staff recommended against creating a new permanent advisory committee at this time, saying partner agencies listed by council during the CUP process told staff they lack capacity to serve on a new committee. Anderson said the Parks and Recreation Board and the Jackson Hole Land Trust can advise on management items and that establishing a committee would require significant staff time.

Anderson presented three ambassador models for public stewardship and education: - Model 1 (staff‑run events): Town staff would organize one to three stewardship or public‑education events per year in partnership with nonprofits and civic groups. Staff described this as low to medium staff time and recommended it as the initial approach. - Model 2 (regular volunteer crew): Town recruits a recurring volunteer crew (e.g., monthly) to do stewardship tasks alongside staff; would require higher ongoing staff support. - Model 3 (trained volunteer ambassadors): A trained, semi‑independent volunteer ambassador program similar to Nordic ambassadors on public lands, including education and basic data collection; staff said this model would be medium‑to‑high staff investment to train and manage.

Monitoring and ecological study options On monitoring, Anderson said the town can implement low‑cost measures such as visitation counts (camera or counters), simple audio decibel measurements, and invasive‑species monitoring. Higher‑cost studies — for example songbird nesting success or mule‑deer seasonal movement studies — would require hiring an ecologist and could cost substantially more; staff put a broad range on monitoring costs “from a few thousand dollars a year to more than $100,000 annually” depending on scope. Anderson said staff prioritized measures that could lead to manageable mitigation actions (seasonal closures, signage, targeted restoration) over studies that would be difficult to translate into near‑term management steps.

Public comment Kevin Krasnow of the Conservation Alliance urged an emergency‑closure process and clear impact thresholds tied to monitoring, saying the meadow’s overwintering wildlife is vulnerable and must be protected. Sam Petrie of Friends of Pathways shared a short winter camera summary (Jan. 28–Mar. 11) showing modest winter use concentrated near the existing parking lot and urged accurate description of permitted bike use for young children and adaptive devices. Jenny Karnes, representing the Karnes family, offered to volunteer and recommended a simple monitoring budget target.

Council motions and votes - Motion: “Direct staff to create a Kearns Meadow Park Ambassador program as described in model 1 in this staff report and begin the program in spring [2025].” Mover: Councilwoman Veeneman. Second: Councilman Schechter. Vote: unanimous. Outcome: approved. - Motion: “Direct staff to return to council with a scope of work and budget to hire an ecologist and summarize available data on Kearns Meadow into a report that can be updated annually and conduct additional studies to monitor the impact of construction and recreational use, including seasonal visitation counts, changes in audioscape, changes in vegetative cover, changes in the prevalence of invasive species, nesting songbird success during and after construction, and its impact on overwintering wildlife. Additionally, staff shall provide other funding options available as well.” Mover: Councilwoman Feeney. Second: Councilman Schechter. Vote: unanimous. Outcome: approved.

What staff will do next Staff will implement a low‑barrier ambassador program (Model 1) this spring and prepare an RFP or scope and cost estimate to hire an ecologist and assemble existing data plus a prioritized monitoring menu. Anderson said staff will pursue low‑cost monitoring first (visitor counts, basic habitat checks) and will flag higher‑cost studies for council consideration and potential grant or partner funding.

Ending Council approved immediate, staff‑led community stewardship events while directing a more structured scientific monitoring plan to follow. The actions set a path to combine volunteer engagement, partner collaboration and targeted ecological study as the park is built and opened.