Jackson Council rejects Karns Meadow monitoring bids, opts for partner approach

The Jackson Town Council on March 16 is scheduled to consider rejecting all proposals received in response to the town’s RFP for ecological monitoring at Karns Meadow, and to authorize staff to pursue an alternate “partner approach” to monitoring instead. Staff’s recommended motion directs the town to reject the bids and work with nonprofits and agencies “as needed” to draft agreements covering recreation-use monitoring, invasive-species monitoring, acoustic monitoring, and an adaptive management plan. (Town Council Regular Meeting Agenda Packet)

The RFP process produced proposals that staff say were “significantly more expensive than anticipated” and included approaches the town does not view as feasible or necessary, including concerns that some wildlife-monitoring methods could be invasive or yield data that can’t confidently tie impacts to park use alone. The only proposal detailed in the packet is from Y2 Consultants, priced at $100,983 over three years, not including equipment purchases. (Town Council Regular Meeting Agenda Packet)

Under the proposed alternative, staff recommend: trail counters with Friends of Pathways to track visitation; invasive-weed monitoring with Teton County Weed & Pest; and acoustic monitoring with the Teton Raptor Center, with a lower-cost option estimated at about $10,000 per year plus $5,000 for equipment. Staff also propose using a summer intern to compile and update an annual “available data” report, and working with Wyoming Game and Fish on adaptive management for overwintering wildlife rather than deploying game cameras. The packet notes about $9,000 remains in the FY26 “small tools” budget for monitoring equipment. (Town Council Regular Meeting Agenda Packet)