Why a tourism board grant could keep Teton campfires from becoming disasters

If your family heads out for a weekend campout, this is the kind of spending that is supposed to keep a simple trip from turning into a wildfire headline. In a Friends of the Bridger-Teton Funding Request Presentation, the group asks the Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Board for $400,000 for FY27 ambassador services on the Bridger-Teton National Forest.

The pitch is pretty parent-readable: keep trained people where visitors actually make mistakes. The presentation says ambassadors logged more than 11,800 hours, made 10,653 visitor contacts, gave 130 food-storage warnings, put out 84 abandoned campfires and saw 0 escaped campfires and 0 human-wildlife conflicts. The work covered 23 sites, including Shadow Mountain, Curtis Canyon, Goosewing Guard Station, Gros Ventre Road, Teton Pass trailheads and several day-use areas.

The budget page is messy to read, but the main number is clear: $400,000 from the tourism board, or about 32.65% of a $1.225 million project budget. The presentation also shows $210,000 in payroll and stipends, plus $190,000 for operations, including $170,000 for vehicle rentals and maintenance. The group frames the request as prevention spending, not just visitor help, and notes it received a 2026 Bronze Smokey Bear Award for wildfire prevention service.