Teton County commissioners on Monday unanimously approved outgoing correspondence to the U.S. Forest Service providing county comments on the draft assessment for the Bridger-Teton National Forest plan revision. The county is a cooperating agency in the forest plan revision process and staff reviewed the draft assessment to identify items where the county can assist.

"The draft assessment establishes the purpose and need," staff member Mr. Colligan had told the board before the motion. Commissioner Macker proposed removing a bullet in the letter that referenced the Wyoming Public Lands Initiative (WPLI); he said the WPLI reference is better explained in the spreadsheet of comments that will be attached to the letter and could be misinterpreted if placed in the letter itself. "I think the WPLI means different things to different entities and want to be really clear what we're talking about when we talk about it," Macker said.

Commissioner Macker moved to approve the letter as amended; Commissioner Gardner seconded. The motion carried unanimously. Department director Heather Overholzer agreed to pass the amendments to staff and to the designated point person, Mr. Colligan.

Why it matters: the county’s role as a cooperating agency provides input to the Forest Service on the purpose and need portions of the draft assessment; the correspondence and attached spreadsheet will detail the county’s positions and references for consideration as the federal agency advances the plan revision.

Next steps: staff will finalize the letter and attach the spreadsheet with more detailed references and year citations about prior county resolutions.