WHERE WE WORK

It’s a reasonable question: What in the world could a hard-working small business owner from Livingston possibly have in common with a wealthy new homeowner from Jackson Hole? And why would an otherwise sensible Cody rancher be interested in sitting down to lunch with an environmentalist from Idaho? Welcome to the third annual Power of Place Conference, where these types of thoughtful interactions not only happen, but are encouraged.

This year’s conference was held May 22-24 at Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton National Park. This remarkable collaboration brings together leaders from business, conservation, government, and land management agencies for three days of dialogue. For the past three years, NPCA, the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce, and the Charture Institute have cosponsored Power of Place. This year, for the fi rst time, the conference joined with the Yellowstone Business Partnership’s annual meeting.

Regional leaders from public, private, and nonprofi t sectors came together to forge alliances aimed at conserving the natural amenities of the region and to ensure the area’s economic and cultural sustainability. Expert speakers led a discussion about the Greater Yellowstone’s regional identity and investigated the common characteristics and values of area communities. The forum also explored the Power of Place legacy question: What is it that we treasure about this area that we want to leave protected for future generations?

The words of John Turner, a Jackson native and former Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientifi c Affairs, helped frame much of the conference discussion: “We have both a special responsibility here in the Greater Yellowstone and a unique opportunity,” he said at the conference banquet. “Responsibility not just to our jobs, business, family, but to be ‘collaborative custodians’ and to use the ‘power of this place’ to improve our human, financial, and social resources. And he warned that if “consumption is at the expense of investment, then such consumption is not sustainable.”

A stark example of the risks of over-consumption was presented in Dr. Joel Berger’s captivating presentation on the migration of pronghorn antelope as they weave a path from summer range in Grand Teton to winter range in the upper Green River Valley. Using high-tech global positioning satellite systems, Dr. Berger and his colleagues have been able to track the path of the pronghorn and document the longest remaining migration of mammals in the lower 48 states. Research shows the corridor is at risk of fragmentation due to housing and energy development. Dr. Berger offered some hope that the narrow migration corridor might be protected without destroying the area’s economy.

One of the highlights of the conference was a presentation on NPCA’s new Gateways to Yellowstone report.

The conference concluded with a mapping exercise that explored the extent to which our gateway communities are connected to each other and also to parks and public lands. It became clear that while most participants feel a strong connection to the parks, there is a need to better understand and make use of the broader regional connections and shared values in our region. As John Turner put it, “Regardless of our politics, we must all be leaders working for a more sustainable future in our communities, in our region, and for the global community.”

Inspired by such a vision, NPCA will continue to work with Yellowstone and Grand Teton gateway communities over the next year to help further develop this vision and its potential. communities and the environment.”