Leslie’s column

I continue to be fascinated by the people I meet when I travel around the country. They care deeply about Grand Teton and a trip to Wyoming is their ultimate escape; the place where they can truly catch their breath before tackling life again. I’ve lived a few miles from the park for nearly twenty years, and like so many of the local park lovers I know, I’m still struck by Grand Teton’s incredible appeal. For everyone who dreams about the next good hike or the park’s stunning scenery during the morning commute, these mountains provide some of the best moments life has to offer.

One of my favorite park friends lived on the East Coast for most of the year but always had her heart firmly planted in the Tetons. Deborah Howell passed away last winter, and I thought of her and her husband often this summer as I explored the trails they’d hiked together. She was an amazing woman who thrived on reporting a good story, and she will long be revered in the newspaper world. Deborah remembered the Foundation in her will; her presence and kindness will be felt here, too, for a long time to come.


Estate planning is one of many ways our donors are assuring the park will have a bright future and its unique features will be accessible for everyone. In the six years I’ve been with the Foundation, I’ve watched our network of friends continue to grow as more people acknowledge the challenges parks face and choose to improve education, trails, and the experience of millions of people. With our most ambitious project coming to an end this spring—the completion of the visitor center—we’ll not only toast the auditorium’s opening, we’ll celebrating the people who love this park. Thank you all for making a difference in Grand Teton!

Stewardship Begins Early

One of the best parts about supporting the bear box campaign comes when you venture into the woods to see your gift in action. This summer, one of our youngest gift recipients, Max Ozbolt, did just that with his great grandfather who made the gift in his honor. When they found the bear box, campers were using it. This came as quite a shock to 3-year-old Max. He began to sob, believing they had stolen the box his great grandfather gave him. Here’s to a happier hike next time, Max!

Want a bear box of your own? Contact Andrea Deaton at 307-732-0629.

Making a Significant Impact Every Month

“We find that if you make a monthly gift throughout the year, it’s a lot easier than writing a large check at the end of the year.”
Holly and Carlos Ortiz, monthly donors for more than a decade

Join the Monthly Giving Club and put your dollars to work all year long for Grand Teton National Park. By setting up an installment plan, you spread out payments and eliminate the need for annual renewal notices, reducing the Foundation’s administrative costs.

How does it work?

Choose an amount you want to contribute every month, and it will be automatically deducted from your credit/debit card or your checking account. For more information or to download a membership form, visit www.gtnpf.org/join.php

An Inspired Visitor Will Change Grand Teton’s Future: Remembering Deborah Howell

“She loved the place and wanted to leave a lot of what she’d earned for the Tetons.”


For more than 30 years, the Tetons provided the backdrop for some of the best moments of Deborah Howell’s life. A groundbreaking journalist who retired as the Washington Post ombudsman in 2008, Deborah and her husband, Peter Magrath, spent two weeks of every summer on the shores of Jenny Lake. They explored the park’s trails, starting early every morning and savoring every step. “She knew the trails, she was my guide,” Mr. Magrath said. “This was her place.”

 The couple traveled the world, but it was the American West that captivated Deborah. Her enduring love of open spaces, mountains, and wildlife has now transformed into a gift that will help make Grand Teton the best place it can be—a bequest that the Foundation will one day use to continue special projects in the park.

 We all hope to be remembered in some significant way. While many set out to engineer the legacy they are eventually known for, others are destined for the history books because it’s simply who they are. A young newspaper editor at the Minneapolis Star in the 1960s, Deborah remains one of few women to have held the position of city desk editor. “She was a significant American journalist,” Mr. Magrath said. “She smashed the glass ceiling at a time when there were incredible prejudices against women.” Twenty years later, Deborah led the St. Paul Pioneer Press to win two Pulitzer Prizes. She later served as the first bureau chief of Newhouse News and will forever be remembered for paving the way for female journalists today.

 Deborah spent time in the company of things that mattered most to her. By including the Foundation in her will, she’s left the world another legacy that underscores her generosity, spirit of adventure and, most of all, her gift for inspiring others.

 Deborah Howell and Peter Magrath have been longtime supporters of Grand Teton National Park Foundation. Mr. Magrath currently serves as the interim president at Binghamton University in upstate New York.

From Boardroom to Backcountry

One trip to these mountains can change your life forever.  For some who come here, a dose of Teton inspiration leads to great things for the park.

In the mid-90s, Bill Baxter left Tennessee for a hike in the Tetons.  Captivated by that first experience, Bill returned with his family shortly thereafter and later, brought them back for the millennial New Year’s celebration.  They packed their champagne and trekked into the park to ring in a new century.  The night was freezing, but the memory of that special evening was one of many that continues to lead the Baxter family back to these iconic mountains year after year.  In 2004, Bill bought the Wort Hotel and has made it his business to keep Grand Teton National Park firmly in the hearts of guests ever since.

Bill called the Foundation shortly after his first trip to offer his support because he served on the Friends of the Smokies board and understood the positive impact the private sector can have on national parks.  “There’s something to be said for being able to make priorities happen in the park.”  For Bill and his wife, Ginger, the visitor center was the signature project they felt the park needed.

At the Wort, Bill initially sold bottled water and gave a portion of sales to the Foundation.  Now, the $1/night check-off program, an idea conceived by Clay James at Grand Teton Lodge Company to give guests a way to participate in park stewardship, is the Wort’s vehicle for supporting park programs. 

The NPS will always be short on funding for specialized projects and businesses are in an ideal position to make a difference.  In Bill’s view, it’s critical for Jackson companies to support Grand Teton.  “Number one, it’s the right thing to do.  It’s also an intelligent business decision; take care of the drawing card for your local economy.”  By partnering on programs, companies generate goodwill, infuse programs with cash to keep them running, and further the conversation about park challenges.  In a day of heightened awareness about our impact on resources, consumers want to protect wilderness, and they want to work with companies that share their commitment. 

For Bill and many other individuals who are park enthusiasts first and business owners second, a chance to be involved with one of America’s most iconic parks is a privilege beyond compare.  “The Tetons changed my life, it’s an awesome experience in the true sense of the word.  To support this great park—it’s something to be proud of.”

The Foundation thanks the many businesses that generously support innovative projects in Grand Teton.  For a complete list of our local and national corporate partners, visit www.gtnpf.org. Want to get involved?  Contact Leslie Mattson at 307-732-0629.

Reaching Beyond Borders to Protect Species Diversity

Migrations represent crown achievements of adaptation in the animal world and illustrate species’ natural shrewdness as they attempt to use seasonal resources in otherwise inhospitable environments.  Many examples of migration from Grand Teton National Park have been well documented:  short 20 to 60-mile local migrations of elk, moose, bison, and bighorn sheep; longer 75 to 150-mile regional treks of pronghorn and mule deer; and extreme flights of 2,500 miles or more by local red-tailed hawks to southern Mexico. 

Impressively, the now well-known Path of the Pronghorn, originally identified by park and Wildlife Conservation Society biologists, is used by about 300 pronghorn to complete the longest overland migration in the contiguous 48 states—Grand Teton National Park to Sublette County’s Green River basin.  These and other migrations, such as the wildebeest in Africa and gray whales in the Pacific Ocean, are revered wildlife spectacles.

Yet, despite their tremendous value, migrations have received little conservation attention, and losses continue to mount globally.  In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem alone, 75% of pronghorn migrations have already been lost, casualties of land development.  History has shown us that when animals migrate beyond the reaches of protected areas, like national parks, they are vulnerable.  In the case of pronghorn, delineating the migratory path through research resulted in several important conservation measures, including the first federally protected migration corridor in the history of the U.S. Forest Service.  The tie between science and conservation in this case is inextricable, and it provides a conservation model for animal migrations everywhere.  

Thanks to Foundation donors, park biologists are increasing their knowledge of animal migration with two new pilot projects.  The first kicked off in summer 2010 with the help of Craighead Beringia South, a local research and education institution, and will follow an osprey family from their summer home on Jackson Lake to their wintering grounds—likely in Central or South America—and back.  The real-time progress of these birds, fitted with super small, lightweight satellite radio transmitters, can be viewed here.  The second, planned for summer 2011, will follow mule deer from the high elevations of the northern Tetons in summer to their anticipated wintering areas in eastern Idaho and back.  Along the way, important movement corridors through private and public lands outside the park will be identified.

These movements form the cornerstone of migration conservation planning and the start of protection actions.  They are the beginning of a complicated route to success—one that involves many agencies, land owners, and competing interests that must work together to achieve a common goal.  Biologists will use these studies for long-term wildlife conservation planning specific to Grand Teton National Park.  In addition to providing park management with a basis for initiating discussions with stakeholders, these and other animal migration data from the park showcase the important relationship between protecting animal migrations and preserving species diversity in national parks around the globe.  In this way, even small but important local projects can have far-reaching benefits to national park units and the conservation of animal migrations in a broad range of geographical, environmental, and sociopolitical conditions.

Steve Cain

Senior Wildlife Biologist, Grand Teton National Park

Enter to Win a Free Park Pass!

Do you want to cross-country ski Grand Teton's Inner Loop Road this winter or plan for a camping getaway on Jackson Lake next summer?

Now's your chance!

Provide us with contact information for you and three of your friends, and the four of you will be entered to win a free Grand Teton National Park pass! The pass has a retail value of $80.00 and is valid through October 31, 2011.By entering, your friends will also receive our e-newsletters to learn about how Grand Teton National Park Foundation supports initiatives that go beyond what the National Park Service could accomplish on its own -- solving park challenges and creating a solid future for Grand Teton.

Enter to Win:

E-mail intern@gtnpf.org by December 10th at 5pm MST with the following for you and each of your three friends:name, mailing address (street/po box, city, state, zip code), phone number and e-mail address.

Names will be drawn the evening of Friday, December 10th and the winner will be informed by e-mail and phone on Monday, December 13th.

Official Rules:

Contest Period: Contest begins Monday, November 22nd and ends 5:00 PM Mountain Standard Time on Friday, December 10th, 2010.

How to Enter: E-mail intern@gtnpf.org with the contact information for you and three of your friends or family members living in a different household. The following contact information is necessary: Full name, mailing address (street/po box, city, state, zip code), phone number (with area code) and e-mail address. In e-mailing us this information, you and your friends will be entered once. You are welcome to provide us with the contact information of more than three friends. For each group of three you provide, you will be entered to win (i.e., if you provide six contacts you will be entered twice).

Selection of Winner: Grand Teton National Park Foundation will conduct the drawing so that one (1) winner will be randomly selected from all the eligible entries received in accordance with the rules after 5:00 PM MST on Friday, December 10th, 2010.

Prize: We will give away one (1) Grand Teton National Park annual pass with a retail value of $80.00. The pass is valid through October 31st, 2011 and valid for entrance at federal recreation sites for pass holder and occupants of a single, private noncommercial vehicle OR pass holder and three persons (16 and older) where per person fees are charged. For more details, click here to visit the National Park Service website and read section Interagency Annual Pass.

Privacy Notice: Grand Teton National Park Foundation will not sell or share the contact information of any contestants with any outside parties.