An Afternoon in Ashton

Reed Neilson and I attended the Teton View Regional Plan presentation in Ashton last Friday. I had received a personal invite from Cheryl Hill and it was obvious that there was some trepidation when I arrived.

The auditorium was ringed by a half dozen stations, each manned (actually womaned) by participants in the study group. We moved from station to station, we inquired if any proposals would further a national monument in any way. They all replied that the proposals contained in the Teton View Regional Plan would not promote any federal intervention in the caldera. Each proposal was voluntary and community specific or joint-county projects. 

The suggested projects included:

A greenbelt path for St Anthony

The continuation of a cycling path from Teton Pass to Island Park

Better information and signage for tourists

Efforts to establish a food processing plant in the upper valley to process local produce

And then there was the proposal that garnered so much attention last week, a proposal to review the water rights of the Snake River. 

I spoke with Pam Herdrich, the executive coordinator for the High Country Resource Conservation and Development Area, Inc. out of St Anthony. Pam spoke of a desire to improve and diversify agricultural products in the Upper Snake River Plain. One of the impediments is that most of the water rights for the Snake River are held by land owners between Burley and Twin Falls. In the event of a drought, those rights holders can shut off all water to upper valley farmers. The proposal is to allow for some baseline water access in the upper Snake River Plain. While I may not have a dog in that fight, I can’t blame the local farmers for not wanting to have their farms dry up as they watch the water flow through their land to the lower plain.

I walked to the back corner of the hall and there SHE was! Sitting there, in person, without armed guards! It was Jan Brown. I approached warily, concerned that I was unarmed and without bear spray. How would she react? Were we in danger? Reed and I sat down cautiously. She greeted us with a tentative “Hello”. I opened my notebook and began. “Let’s get to it. Is there anything that promotes a national monument in this plan?”  “No” she replied. I had to ask, “Well, what the hell were you thinking when you got involved in the national monument proposal?” “I had no idea that I’d be drawn into such a mess.” she replied. We then relaxed and spent the next hour talking about the Teton View Regional Plan and what it recommended for Island Park. I asked Jan, as I had of all the other station representatives what the three best ideas for the caldera were. 
She listed the following:     

A nature/tourist center for the caldera

Decks and stairs built in areas where appropriate, for visitors to watch wildlife (moose, swans, etc.) similar to those that surround Big Springs.

Safer crossings for game animals on Hwy 20

While some of these ideas may be essential, none of them offended my sensibilities. In fact, as I read the literature on Wonders and Wildlife that she gave me, the only issue that I found was a notation about addressing “Climate Change Adaptation”. I consider that theory a load of baloney. There has been climate change throughout the history of the earth. We currently call them “seasons”. Don’t get me started!

Back at the auditorium, Reed and I visited two more stations, had a couple more conversations and shared our message. The residents of Island Park don’t appreciate it when others plan our future! If there are changes that would be beneficial to the caldera, its visitors or the residents of the flat, please run it by us first before pushing ahead. By the time Reed and I finished, they were taking down the stations and putting away the treats. It was time to go.

I hope that we relayed how violated Island Park felt when it had the national monument thrust upon us. At the same time, many of the proposals weren’t unrealistic or without merit. I hope that despite the furor over the national monument inquiry, Island Park can look objectively at the proposals and select the ones that we can support. I do not want others to get the perception that we consider every action by neighboring communities a conspiracy or that we are part of the tin-foil hat crowd. That simply would not be true.

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.