County to place Stilson Park under Scenic Preserve Trust easement

Teton County commissioners, convening as the Teton County Scenic Preserve Trust, are set to vote June 15 on accepting a conservation easement for the county owned 8.5 acre Stilson Park parcel near the Highway 22 and Highway 390 junction. The easement would permanently bar residential or commercial buildout and require the land to stay largely open, with park development clustered into a smaller “Park Amenities Area” and a larger “Open Play Fields Area” intended to keep wildlife moving through the Snake River corridor pinch point. Details are in the R Board Meeting Agenda.

The staff packet describes the property as part of the Greater Stilson complex, where Wyoming Department of Transportation has installed four wildlife crossings and fencing, including two crossings directly adjacent to Stilson. The proposed easement would allow unlit, seasonal field use and Nordic skiing, and it would explicitly rule out softball or baseball fields as inconsistent with the conservation purpose. Commissioners also have a live policy choice in front of them: whether to prohibit permanent trails in the 6.5 acre open field area (beyond the mowed Nordic ski course), or allow future built pathways that could add human pressure in the same space wildlife is being pushed toward. See the Stilson easement packet.