Teton commissioners to weigh “gateway communities” letter to Interior Sec. Burgum

Teton County’s Board of County Commissioners will consider approving and sending a draft “gateway communities” letter to U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum at its April 13 meeting, under the agenda’s proposed outgoing correspondence item (Board of County Commissioners Meeting Agenda).

In the draft, the commissioners thank the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service for implementing Secretarial Order 3434 (“Strengthening Coordination with Gateway Communities”), and argue Teton County qualifies as a gateway community because it contains all of Grand Teton National Park and about 42% of Yellowstone, citing 2025 visitation numbers for both parks (Letter to Secretary of the Interior).

The letter then makes three specific requests: (1) “keep public lands in public hands,” endorsing Wyoming Legislature Senate Joint Resolution 0009 opposing broad sale or exchange of public lands; (2) reverse what the commissioners describe as harmful agency funding and staffing cuts since 2025 that they say undermine wildfire suppression, visitor management, water quality and other core functions; and (3) protect the inherent value of Grand Teton and Yellowstone by resisting “amusement-based recreation” or adding “amusements” inside the parks, emphasizing solitude and traditional dispersed recreation.

If approved as drafted, the letter would be signed by Commission Chair Mark Newcomb and addressed to Burgum, with copies to Grand Teton Superintendent Chip Jenkins and Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly (per the draft letter).