Message from Grand Teton National Park Superintendent Mary Gibson Scott

As spring arrives with promise and rebirth, it’s the perfect time to contemplate this year’s fresh, new initiatives at Grand Teton.

Through a partnership with the Student Conservation Association and Teton Science Schools, plus matching private funds from the Foundation, we hosted our first NPS Academy to introduce college students to careers with the National Park Service. Twenty-nine students with diverse backgrounds spent spring break learning about the NPS and exploring the park; and from all indications, that single week changed their lives and those of our employees. The students connected to the incomparable landscape as they considered their future and their legacy: they formed meaningful relationships with each other and reinvigorated park staff. This pilot program turned into something greater than we’d imagined, and we intend to spread its vitality and success. The next step places students into summer internships at national parks across the country. Through the help of our partners, Grand Teton will influence present and future generations as it develops new land stewards and conservation advocates.

Another significant project involves the David T. Vernon Indian Art Collection. With help from the Foundation, we will better protect these artifacts that were gifted by Laurance Rockefeller and are unique within the NPS. Planning is underway for displaying and interpreting representative pieces while also preserving the collection through proper museum procedures. In 2005, half of the collection was sent to Tucson’s Western Archeological and Conservation Center for curatorial treatment; the other half will receive treatment this fall. Colter Bay Visitor Center will be rehabilitated and several pieces returned in 2012 to special exhibit cases in Colter Bay and Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center. This project will conserve the collection and improve understanding of its inherent value as a part of America’s heritage.

The Discovery Center’s auditorium opened in mid-April and already it’s become an integral part of the visitor center experience: a cozy and inspiring spot. Foundation donors provided 100% of the funding for construction, completing the facility as it was originally intended and creating an impressive space to showcase educational presentations.

Through our dedicated workforce and dynamic partners, we are advancing truly innovative and beneficial initiatives. It’s an exciting time to join hands, hearts and minds to care for a precious landscape we all dearly love.

The Wolverine: Addressing Conservation Challenges for a Rare, Long-Distance Traveler

In the Rocky Mountain states, wolverines once ranged widely throughout Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. Now, largely due to persecution by western settlers in the 19th and early 20th centuries, their range is constricted. The known breeding range of this second largest member of the weasel family (only sea otters are larger) no longer includes Colorado, and its southern boundary is in Grand Teton National Park.

Wolverines are short, compact, and powerful animals weighing 20-40 pounds, with males generally about a third larger than females. Like Canada lynx, their feet are large relative to body size, making them especially suited for snow travel. Like bears, their reproductive rate is low. Breeding commences at 4 years of age or older, occurs only every 2-3 years, and produces litter sizes of just over 1 cub on average. Like wolves, wolverines are highly territorial. Overlap of same-sex individual home ranges averages less than 1%. And like cougars, wolverines are independent and nonsocial for most of the year. But unlike other carnivores, wolverines naturally occur at super low densities. In the Yellowstone ecosystem, estimates suggest over 100 square miles of wildlands are needed to support one wolverine.

Long-term research in the Yellowstone region by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and others has revealed that just two breeding female and two breeding male wolverines occupy the entire Teton Range, where they prefer high elevation, rugged, and snowy terrain. They scavenge ungulate carcasses in winter, prey on marmots and other small mammals during summer, and den under the mid-winter snowpack in huge tree debris piles created by avalanches. Offspring accompany their mother for about a year before they disperse from the area.

Researchers also discovered that, owing to their low numbers on the landscape, dispersing wolverines must make large movements, sometimes traveling hundreds of miles in search of a mate and breeding territory and crossing low-elevation valleys between mountain ranges in the process. Recently, one radio-marked wolverine moved from just east of Grand Teton National Park to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. These traits point toward a daunting challenge for long-term wolverine conservation, one that will involve coordinating large-scale land management decisions among many competing entities. Indeed, the wolverine may be the perfect poster child for promoting future wildland connectivity in the Rocky Mountains.

Planning for wolverine protection will require knowledge of their distribution and population trends. In an exciting new project, park biologists are collaborating with WCS on testing a noninvasive approach for conducting wolverine inventories. The technique, originally developed in Alaska, involves attracting animals to hanging bait where remote cameras are positioned to photograph individually unique markings and reproductive attributes. This enables researchers to determine sex and reproductive status of individuals. Hairs for DNA sampling are also collected at the site. By locating these stations in a systematic grid across the landscape and creating libraries of individual markings, DNA profiles, and numbers of lactating females, we hope to accurately estimate wolverine numbers and whether or not breeding is occurring in a given region. We believe that developing this technique is a critical step for effective wolverine conservation.

Steve Cain
Senior Wildlife Biologist
Grand Teton National Park

Bob Inman
Director, Greater Yellowstone Wolverine Program
Wildlife Conservation Society

Message from President Leslie Mattson

Lately, I’ve been intrigued by good ideas that spread in a multitude of directions. The Foundation is an example of this—we were formed to build the visitor center but that one monumental undertaking branched into a wealth of projects and thousands of supporters.

When visitor center donors wanted to do more, funding was directed to wildlife research, allowing park biologists to significantly contribute to the knowledge building within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The information not only benefits this region, but it informs national decisions and helps other biologists who are facing similar challenges around the world.

Our donors also believed that pairing teens with the outdoors would be a worthy concept to support. Their gifts brought the first youth crew into the park to work on trails and learn about conservation in 2006. This project led to a flourishing multicultural program that is helping Grand Teton attract a young, diverse audience. Addressing diversity challenges sparked this spring’s NPS Academy, a career prep initiative that introduces college students to jobs at national parks. Mary Gibson Scott talks about this incredible effort in her column, but the exciting takeaway is that the academy is already poised to expand well beyond Grand Teton’s borders.

And, finally, one of the best developments this year is that we have been able to leverage your private sector dollars to help the park receive federal grants, which doubled funding for important youth and wildlife programs during a time of significant budget cuts.

Your gifts to the Foundation often reach farther than we ever expect. They bring your favorite programs to life, but they also lead to opportunities we never imagined and touch many people along the way. Thank you for supporting our work in the park; we can’t wait to see how it grows!

Tax Changes May Increase Charitable Gifts

After 2010’s estate tax uncertainties, 2011 and 2012 will provide people a two-year window in which they know what to expect. As a result, many people are thinking about estate planning and how they can maximize inheritance to loved ones and gifts to the nonprofits they wish to support:

•  People 70 ½ and older can give nonprofits up to $100, 000 tax-free from their individual retirement accounts 
• Low interest rates create a great environment for setting up certain charitable trusts 

Thinking about the future begins today. Talk with your financial advisor about creating a strategy that’s right for you and how the Foundation can play a role in your charitable estate plan. Visit www.gtnpf.org/horace.php for more information about the Horace Albright Society or contact Kim Mills at 307-732-4192.

Introducing Education, Technology, and an Unforgettable View

Auditorium and website funded through $3.2 million in gifts by Foundation donors

The Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center auditorium is open! The new 150-seat addition combines state-of-the-art technology with a picture window that frames the Teton Range to create Jackson’s most scenic venue for lectures and films. Complementing the educational components in the visitor center, the facility’s offerings include a National Park Service film and lecture series as well as music and community-sponsored presentations.

In addition, http://www.discovergrandteton.org/ will launch this summer and provide trip planning and educational information that includes wildlife, geology, park history, and Junior Ranger programs. Videos, webcams, games, and electronic field trips will be featured as well to advance the park’s overall interpretive scheme and connect with a tech-savvy audience. Future plans include interactive e-hikes and mobile apps.

For upcoming auditorium events, visit www.nps.gov/grte/planyourvisit/special.htm. 

Renowned Scientist to Speak at Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center Auditorium

Grand Teton National Park Foundation board member, Dr. Robert Smith, will share his experiences and geologic discoveries in the greater Yellowstone-Teton region as part of Grand Teton National Park’s Speaker Series 2011.

Jackson, Wyoming – June 23, 2011 Grand Teton National Park Foundation Board Member Dr. Robert B. Smith, an award-winning research professor and emeritus professor of geophysics and geology at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, will deliver a retrospective of his distinguished career in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem on June 30, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. A Living, Breathing, Shaking Career will be held in the new auditorium at the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center in Moose, Wyoming. The lecture is part of a larger series that will run from June 27 to August 30 and will feature nine talks that center on a variety of topics. The public is invited to attend; seating is available for the first 150 people to arrive. Dr. Smith has conducted research in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks for more than fifty years and is the co-author of Windows Into the Earth—The Geologic Story of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. His research has predominantly focused on earthquakes and volcanoes and the role giant forces from these natural features have played in shaping northwestern Wyoming and the western U.S.

“Bob has been a tremendous asset to our organization,” Foundation President Leslie Mattson said. “Not only does he help us understand up-to-the minute information about an active park that is constantly changing, he has been invaluable to park managers and the greater region when it comes to interpreting the area’s geologic events so decision makers can respond effectively.”

Beginning in the early 1970s Dr. Smith initiated his studies of earthquakes and ground motions of Jackson Hole, later conducting seismic surveys of Jackson Lake and age dating of the Teton fault. These investigations led to an understanding of the Teton fault and its role in geologic evolution and earthquake hazards of the region. In addition, he founded the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, which monitors volcanic and earthquake unrest in the Yellowstone National Park region, the site of the largest and most diverse collection of natural thermal features in the world. His contributions also include launching the University of Utah’s Seismograph Stations, a research, educational, and public service group that operates a regional and urban seismic network of more than 200 stations that serve Utah, eastern Idaho, and western Wyoming. Dr. Smith has been a visiting professor at Columbia University, Cambridge University, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich.

To learn more about Dr. Robert B. Smith’s teaching and research, visit http://www.uusatrg.utah.edu/RBSMITH/public_html/rbs-home.index.html.

To learn more about Grand Teton National Park Foundation, visit http://www.gtnpf.org/ or follow the organization’s daily updates at www.twitter.com/GrandTetonFdn and www.facebook/gtnpf.

To learn more about Grand Teton National Park, visit http://www.nps.gov/grte/index.htm or follow the park’s updates at http://twitter.com/#!/grandtetonnps and http://www.facebook.com/pages/Grand-Teton-National-Park-Official-Page/130250293656242. For details about Speaker Series 2011, contact the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center at 307-739-3399.

About Dr. Robert B. Smith
Professor Robert B. Smith has had a distinguished career as a university professor, a research geophysicist, an ardent supporter of and contributor to understanding the causes and effects of earthquakes and volcanoes, and an articulate national and international witness to the hazards and risks posed by these active geologic processes. In addition to his many honors and awards from academic and professional societies, he received a US Department of Interior Career Research Award in 2006; the NPS Award for Contributions to the Geologic Understanding of Yellowstone in 2008; and he received the NPS Intermountain Director’s Award for Natural Resources Research in 2009 for his research and for communicating his knowledge of the geology of Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks. Bob lives in Moose, Wyoming, and Salt Lake City, Utah.

About Grand Teton National Park Foundation
Grand Teton National Park Foundation provides private financial support for special projects that enhance and protect Grand Teton National Park's treasured resources. Since 1997, the organization has raised more than $20 million for education-based capital projects, work-and-learn programs that connect youth to nature, and wildlife research and protection. By funding initiatives that go beyond what the National Park Service could accomplish on its own, Foundation friends solve park challenges and create a solid future for Grand Teton.

About Grand Teton National Park
Located in northwestern Wyoming, Grand Teton National Park preserves a spectacular landscape rich with majestic mountains, pristine lakes and extraordinary wildlife. The park's world-renowned scenery attracts nearly four million visitors per year, and offers an array of recreational activities for all ages and all abilities. Grand Teton National Park (310,000 acres) lies at the heart of the Greater Yellowstone Area: a 22-million-acre ecosystem that includes immeasurable natural resources and priceless historic and cultural treasures.

The Coca-Cola Company and Unilever Fund Trail Work Through Grand Teton National Park Foundation

Outreach attracts two grant awards in support of a youth trail crew and outdoor education

Jackson, Wyoming – June 22, 2011– The Coca-Cola Company and Unilever have partnered with Grand Teton National Park Foundation to fund ten weeks of trail repair and historic site maintenance in Grand Teton National Park through the Youth Conservation Program, a privately funded summer work-and-learn opportunity for 16 to 19-year-olds. The program began on June 20 with twenty participants who will accomplish hands-on work in the park in exchange for a unique education and outdoor adventure. Both Coca-Cola and Unilever offer competitive grants that focus on active, healthy living and programs that connect youth to the outdoors. Each company awarded $10,000 to help the increasingly popular Youth Conservation Program operate in the park for the 2011 season.
“Both organizations are committed to getting young people outside to enjoy unique experiences,” Foundation President Leslie Mattson said. “They have the funding that aids program growth and a significant audience, which raises the visibility of innovative projects and helps people understand the challenges national parks face today. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.”
Nearly eighty students have participated in Youth Conservation Program since it started in 2006. In five years, what began as a small community experiment with thirteen teens has grown into a popular outdoor institution with nearly fifty students across the country competing for twenty positions in 2011. The teen crew fills a unique niche in the park as it tackles trail-related projects and a multitude of other needs, and mentors teach job skills, introduce National Park Service jobs, and help participants develop a conservation ethic. Not only does the program creatively solve challenges in Grand Teton, it is part of a long-term strategy to introduce a younger audience to the park and outdoor recreation. Youth Conservation Program is privately funded by Foundation donors and has contributed more than 32,000 hours to Grand Teton National Park to accomplish projects that would not be completed otherwise.
To learn more about Grand Teton National Park Foundation and Youth Conservation Program, visit http://www.gtnpf.org/ or follow the organization’s daily updates at www.twitter.com/GrandTetonFdn and www.facebook/gtnpf.

About Grand Teton National Park Foundation
Grand Teton National Park Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization whose mission is to fund projects that protect and enhance Grand Teton National Park’s treasured resources. By funding initiatives that go beyond what the NPS could accomplish on its own, the Foundation initiates improvements, critical research, and projects that enhance visitors’ experiences, creating a solid future for Grand Teton. Since 1997, the organization has raised more than $20 million for education-based capital projects, work-and-learn programs that connect youth to nature, and wildlife research and protection.

About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world's largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands. Led by Coca-Cola, the world's most valuable brand, the Company's portfolio features 15 billion dollar brands including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply and Georgia. Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, juices and juice drinks and ready-to-drink teas and coffees. Through the world's largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company's beverages at a rate of 1.7 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, support active, healthy living, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. For more information about our Company, please visit our website at http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/.

About Unilever North America
Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of fast moving consumer goods with strong operations in more than 100 countries and sales in 180. With products that are used over two billion times a day around the world, we work to create a better future every day and help people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services that are good for them and good for others. In the United States, Canada and the Greater Caribbean (Trinidad & Tobago, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico) the portfolio includes brand icons such as: Axe, Becel, Ben & Jerry’s, Bertolli, Blue Band, Breyers, Caress, Consort For Men, Country Crock, Degree, Dove personal care products, fds, Good Humor, Hellmann’s, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!, Just for Me!, Klondike, Knorr, Lever 2000, Lipton, Motions, Nexxus, Noxzema, OMO, Pond’s, Popsicle, Promise, Q-Tips, Ragu, Skippy, Slim-Fast, Soft & Beautiful, St. Ives, Suave, tcb, TIGI, TRESemmé, Vaseline, and Wish-Bone. All of the preceding brand names are registered trademarks of the Unilever Group of Companies. Dedicated to serving consumers and the communities where we live, work and play, Unilever employs more than 13,000 people across North America – generating nearly $10 billion in sales in 2010. For more information, visit http://www.unileverusa.com/, http://www.unilever.ca/, or http://www.unilevercaribbean.com/.

In the Spotlight: Unilever Supports Grand Teton Park Foundation

 
Around the world, Unilever provides nearly 400 brands that range from food and household products to personal care items. Sustainability forms the company's core, and it supports a wide range of programs that make life better for everyone.

Unilever improves national parks and touches millions of visitors. In fact, by the end of 2010, support and in-kind gifts will have totaled over $50 million. Recycling at Work has donated 100% recycled plastic, sustainable lumber to more than 200 national parks for boardwalks, docks, fences, and interpretive displays; America's Best Classroom has connected nearly 30,000 Boys and Girls Club kids to interpretive and service-to-the-land activities in national parks; and National Parks America Tour in partnership with Take Pride in America delivers much needed volunteer service to national parks. "Preserving and protecting America's national parks are a key focus of Unilever's commitment to environmental sustainability in the United States," Catherine McVitty, manager of corporate responsibility programs, says. "For nearly two decades, Unilever has provided sustainable solutions to address critical park infrastructure needs and enhance the visitor experience."

Unilever is currently at work in Grand Teton National Park, funding the Youth Conservation Program and Children in Nature. The Foundation's youth programs were chosen when Unilever further focused their efforts in national parks to advance environmental stewardship and health and well-being. The Foundation's programs bring diversity, young people, and outdoor education to Grand Teton and that's right in line with Unilever's goals.

Unilever wants to keep iconic parks pristine and relevant. "We, too, share the vision that the future of the parks lies in the engagement of young people," McVitty says. "They will be the stewards of these precious places." Relevance is a hot topic in the National Park Service today and Unilever understands that engaging young people and diverse groups in the park can be a catalyst for introducing others to these unique places and, therefore, broadening their appeal.

Unilever's good work will enrich Grand Teton National Park in a multitude of ways. Thank you for all you do for America's national parks!

The North Face Explore Fund Awards Grant to Grand Teton National Park Foundation

Youth Conservation Program and Children in Nature support a national effort to increase outdoor participation among young people in Grand Teton National Park

 Jackson, Wyoming – June 13, 2011– The North Face has awarded a $2,500 grant to Grand Teton National Park Foundation to help children and families explore the outdoors through two important efforts: Youth Conservation Program, a teen trail crew that operates in Grand Teton National Park each summer; and Children in Nature, a multicultural program that introduces middle and high-school students to the park through interpretation, recreation, and service projects. The Foundation was selected from hundreds of applications because of its innovative approach to linking young people to wilderness and helping them learn about conservation and stewardship. In the first of two grant cycles in 2011, The North Face awarded $125,000 Explore Fund grants to 52 projects helping more than 30,000 kids to connect to nature.


“We are honored The North Face believes strongly in the work we do,” said Foundation President Leslie Mattson. “These programs are successful and growing, and they are right in line with the national outdoor movement that is inspiring youth to discover the outdoors and understand the importance of wilderness in our lives.”


Youth Conservation Program launched in 2006 and Children in Nature’s pilot season began in 2010. Both are part of the Foundation’s greater Youth Engagement Initiative, a long-term, multifaceted effort that addresses Grand Teton National Park’s need to develop a base of younger visitors, to recruit a diverse workforce, and to inspire future supporters. In addition, Youth Conservation Program has provided more than 32,000 hours of valuable labor on park trails and historic sites—work that would not have been accomplished otherwise. Since the Initiative’s founding, nearly 120 young people have been immersed in outdoor adventures and received a unique wilderness education. Both conservation programs also focus heavily on youth development and include leadership opportunities, mentoring, and teamwork and are unlike any other offered in the region due to the hands-on experiences and the potential for advancement into park leadership academies and possible employment in the future.


In addition, Grand Teton National Park Foundation and Grand Teton National Park have grown these critical programs exponentially with the support of several important partner organizations. Teton Science Schools, an environmental education center in Grand Teton National Park, provides staff and program development; Teton Literacy Center and Latino Resource Center provide a recruitment link to the local Latino community; and many generous individual, corporate, and foundation gifts and grants bring critical funding each year to assure the Foundation’s Youth Engagement Initiative will have the resources it needs to operate effectively.


“First-hand experience is essential to ignite a passion for the outdoors, and that shouldn’t be limited by gender, race or income level,” said Ann Krcik, director of outdoor participation at The North Face. “At The North Face, we’re dedicated to providing everyone with the access to our natural playgrounds and the resources they need to get outside.”


The Youth Conservation Program trail crew can be found on park trails starting June 20 for ten weeks, and Children in Nature students will be learning and exploring the park July 11-16 and July 18-23. To learn more about Grand Teton National Park Foundation and youth in Grand Teton National Park, visit http://www.gtnpf.org/ or follow the organization’s daily updates at http://www.twitter.com/GrandTetonFdn and http://www.facebook/gtnpf. To learn more about all of the Explore Fund grantees and to keep up on their progress visit http://www.planetexplore.com/.


About Grand Teton National Park Foundation

Grand Teton National Park Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization whose mission is to fund projects that protect and enhance Grand Teton National Park’s treasured resources. By funding initiatives that go beyond what the NPS could accomplish on its own, the Foundation initiates improvements, critical research, and projects that enhance visitors’ experiences, creating a solid future for Grand Teton.


About The North Face Explore Fund

The North Face® Explore FundTM is a grant program committed to supporting non-profit, community organizations that break down the barriers preventing children and families from experiencing the outdoors. The Explore Fund, administered by The Outdoor Foundation, finds, engages and provides funding for new partners that help further the mission of inspiring the next generation of explorers and conservationists by helping them discover nature's playground.


About PlanetExplore

PlanetExplore is an online community founded by The North Face, powered by partner organizations that share a passion for the outdoors, and designed to help individuals and families learn about and participate in outdoor activities and events in their area. PlanetExplore is a portal to the outdoors designed to inspire and enable people of all ages to become regularly active outside, and to enjoy the benefits gained through a connection to nature.


For more information, please visit our websites:

The Explore Fund http://www.explorefund.com/

Planet Explore http://www.planetexplore.com/

Renowned Bear Biologist Stephen Herrero to Speak in Grand Teton Saturday, April 16th

Grand Teton National Park Superintendent Mary Gibson Scott invites the public to celebrate bears, and our fascination with these charismatic creatures, with Dr. Stephen Herrero, world-renowned bear biologist. Herrero’s public appearance is free and will take place from 9:30 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 16, in the new Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center auditorium at Moose. Internationally known for his work on human-bear conflicts, Herrero is also the author of Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance, among other books and scientific papers.

Through a question-and-answer dialogue, Herrero will explore considerations for bear safety outside the bounds of the most typical human-bear encounters. Attendees are encouraged to bring their questions and engage in an informal conversation. This session will be particularly interesting to those who spend a lot of time out-of-doors in bear habitat. It will include provocative discussions on topics such as cyclist-bear interactions, and how people might chose between using bear spray and playing dead.

 Dr. Herrero will present a public talk at 6 p.m. on Friday evening at the Teton County Library in Jackson, Wyoming, prior to his Saturday morning appearance in Grand Teton. His evening presentation will focus on discoveries about bear behavior, and will include interesting highlights and insights about the magical moments that he and others have experienced in observing bears. Local residents and area visitors are encouraged to join both presentations, as each will spotlight different aspects about bears, their behavior, and human safety around bears.

 Born in San Francisco, Dr. Herrero earned his Ph.D in animal behavior and ecology from the University of California at Berkeley, and currently serves as professor emeritus with the University of Calgary in Alberta. His extensive research in carnivore ecology, behavior, conservation and management led to the development of policies in bear safety and improved bear conservation across the U.S. and Canada. Herrero is recognized throughout the world as a “leading authority” on bear ecology, behavior and attacks.

 Herrero’s book, Bear attacks: Their causes and avoidance, has sold over 115,000 copies and been translated into German and Japanese: a testament to our human attraction to—and fear of—bears. He is a founding member of the Staying Safe in Bear Country Society, which produced four bear safety videos in cooperation with the International Association for Bear Research and Management. These videos include, “Staying Safe in Bear Country,” “Working in Bear Country,” Living in Bear Country,” and “Polar Bears: A Guide to Safety.”

 Grand Teton National Park Foundation will provide breakfast pastries, hot coffee and tea before Dr. Herrero’s Saturday morning session to mark the first public event to be held in the new Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center auditorium. Members of the public should come early to enjoy the refreshments and get a first peek at the newly completed auditorium wing; construction of the new auditorium was funded 100 percent by Grand Teton National Park Foundation donors.

 Seating will be first-come, first-served for Dr. Herrero’s appearance; the new auditorium accommodates 154 people.

Grand Teton National Park Recruits for 2011 Youth Conservation Program

Grand Teton National Park is now recruiting participants for the 2011 Youth Conservation Program (YCP). Thanks to generous donations made by several donors through the Grand Teton National Park Foundation, this marks the fifth year that the park has offered this youth employment opportunity. Grand Teton plans to recruit 15-25 short-term positions. Applications must be postmarked by March 21, 2011.

The YCP is a summer employment program for high school students, ages 16 to 19. YCP enrollees develop an understanding of National Park Service (NPS) conservation ethics as they assist with critically-needed maintenance and rehabilitation on park trails and pathways. Participants work alongside NPS crew leaders and become familiar with NPS stewardship goals, while learning essential trail maintenance skills. YCP participants will work 30-50% of their time with several of the other park divisions (i.e. Science and Resource Management, Interagency Fire, Interpretation, and Visitor and Resource Protection). Students will also meet experts in all aspects of public lands conservation.

During the course of their day, YCP participants may answer basic visitor questions and serve as park ambassadors as they complete project work on some of the most visible, and most impacted, park trails (i.e. Taggart, Bradley, Jenny and String lakes, and trails in the vicinity of Jackson Lake Lodge and Colter Bay). Most of the work will be focused on projects dealing with rehabilitation of trails and backcountry areas through activities such as brushing, hazard tree removal, and construction of water bars and drainage swales. In addition to the project work, environmental education programs and various recreational opportunities are also offered.

The 2011 YCP program will run for ten weeks, from June 20 through August 25. Previously planned commitments such as vacations, sports camps, etc. may be accommodated when possible. Participants must be at least 16 years of age by June 20, and live locally as housing is not provided. Applicants must also be United States citizens and students in good standing. Other qualifications include good team skills, a willingness to learn about Grand Teton National Park and its trail system, and the ability to work at a physically demanding job which may involve lifting 30-40 pounds. Wages for participants in the YCP program are set at $11.08 per hour.

As an extension of their mission to support new and innovative projects that add value to the park, the Grand Teton National Park Foundation provides funding for salaries, work boots, work pants, tee-shirts, and free transportation to and from Jackson for YCP participants. For more information about YCP and how to contribute to future YCP activities, or other Foundation programs, call Leslie Mattson at 307.732.0629, or email leslie@gtnpf.org.

To obtain an application or get further information about the 2011 YCP, please call Brian Bergsma in Grand Teton National Park at 307.739.3364, or write to YCP Program, GTNP, Drawer 170, Moose, WY 83012. Applications are also available online at http://www.nps.gov/grte/supportyourpark/ycp.htm.