Teton County drafts SO 3434 letter urging land protections, staffing restores

Teton County’s April 13 Board of County Commissioners agenda included a proposed outgoing letter responding to Secretarial Order 3434 (“Strengthening Coordination with Gateway Communities”) and addressed to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. The draft frames Teton County as a gateway community for both Grand Teton and Yellowstone, citing 2025 visitation figures for each park and the county’s reliance on the parks for quality of life and the local economy. See the agenda item and link to the letter in the Board of County Commissioners Meeting Agenda.

In the letter, the county thanks NPS leadership for existing collaboration but says it does “not agree” that a formal structure or mandated quarterly coordination meetings necessarily improves engagement—while adding it will participate if the secretary requires them. The draft then offers three requests: keep public lands in public hands (citing Wyoming Senate Joint Resolution SJ0009), reverse “harmful cuts” in agency funding and staffing since 2025, and protect the inherent value of Grand Teton and Yellowstone by resisting “amusement-based recreation” and new entertainments. The full text is in Letter to Secretary of the Interior.

The letter is drafted for Chair Mark Newcomb’s signature and copies Grand Teton Superintendent Chip Jenkins and Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly. (No meeting minutes or vote record were available in the database to confirm whether commissioners approved sending it.)