A Lack of Strategy

Last week’s city council meeting saw an increase in local interest due to a briefing on the Teton View Regional Plan by Tom Cluff, Planning and Building Administrator of Fremont County. The interest of the standing-room-only crowd had more to do with recent revelations regarding pro-national monument activity found in Jan Brown-related emails.

I arrived early to find a nervous Mr. Cluff setting up his video presentation. As the citizens arrived, so did two Fremont County Deputies, apparently dispatched to protect Tom from the angry hoards. While the meeting structure did not allow for audience comments, the three members of the council questioned Mr. Cluff about the Teton View Plan and how it related to any movement towards the national monument. He denied any linkage.

I, like most of Fremont Country residents, have opposed the monument proposal from the beginning. No good can come from getting the federal government more involved in managing Island Park. I was disheartened that someone in Fremont County found it necessary to send deputies to protect Mr. Cluff.  When rhetoric is perceived as threatening by our neighbors on the flat, a reevaluation of strategy is in order.

One of the options in the Teton View Regional Plan is to create a green energy bus hub to bus visitors into Yellowstone Park. Such a bus system would be devastating to the businesses in the caldera. While all proposals are simply options that can be pursued by counties from Madison north, what would stop Rexburg or St Anthony from hosting the hub? Island Park could find itself waving at busloads of tourists as they pass by on their way to West Yellowstone. The only way to ensure that such a proposal does not become a reality is to close ranks with those involved.

Pursuing a more productive relationship is in everyone’s best interest. I would begin with the Fremont County Commissioners. Hiring Jan Brown without vetting her properly was a mistake that they own. They know it. Jan’s services to the county reportedly end in May. The damage that has been done by one individual in this case is considerable but not irreparable.

Island Park should be proactive when dealing with the green central planners. That requires a strategy and being pissed is not a strategy! We need to win the hearts and minds of the people. First in Fremont County, next Eastern Idaho, expand to the rest of the state and finally the nation if we want to keep Island Park under local control.