Just a quick update on how the winter has been going thus far plus a
not-so-brief update on the proposed Canyon Club so many of you have expressed
concern about. As of January 10, 2003 the snowpack in the Snake River Basin
stands at 74% of normal. Jackson Lake is 29% full while the Palisades Reservoir
is at 21% of capacity.
Precipitation has been fairly steady, but we haven’t had any really big
storms yet. All in all, however, the weather pattern is somewhat encouraging.
The Snake River is currently closed to trout fishing but open for whitefish.
Cold temperatures have kept the fishing from being much to talk about.
Regarding the Canyon Club, the following was submitted to us by Anne Hayden
of the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance…
The Canyon Club Golf Course is heading into the final process to get final
approvals from the County for their golf course. PLEASE ATTEND THE NEXT
MEETING, AND BRING YOUR FRIENDS! LET’S PACK THE ROOM AND SEND A SIGNAL TO THE
NEW COUNTY COMMISSIONERS!!!
DATE: Monday, January 13
TIME: 6:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Jackson Hole Middle School
The meeting is being held by the Teton County Planning Commission to review the
revised plan that Canyon Club recently put forward. The Planning staff has
identified many flaws and is making no recommendation on the plan until
additional information is submitted. Undoubtedly, the new County Commissioners
will be there to get a read on the public.
If you can get beyond a golf course along the Snake ("The Pebble Beach of
Jackson Hole" as Dick Edgcomb USED to fondly refer to it), the outstanding
environmental problems are as follows:
1. 8 homesites remain within 800' of one of the critical eagle's nests.
2. 3 homesites remain within the riparian area that Dr. Luna Leopold modeled
and predicted would be flooded out within 20 years. Edgcomb now plans 12
bendway weirs to attempt to divert the flow to deter erosion, but Leopold
predicts the weirs won't hold in that section of the river. The obvious result
will inevitably be emergency dikes to protect the 3 homes.
3. Maintence shed and golf holes (and activity) within 400' of one of the
critical eagle's nests.
4. And of course, designation of "trout creek" as a separate creek, rather
than a channel.
We can't stop the development, but please argue for the following:
1. The developer can relocate the above homesites at NO ADVERSE FINANCIAL
IMPACT to him or the development.
2. Regardless of what the Engineers within the Corps predict, river experts
have predicted that bendway weirs will fail and that stretch of braided river
will continue to meander -- eroding the current banks, so the three riverside
homes SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED.
3. None of these requests are a "taking" of the landowners private property
rights. He has submitted a plan to amend the zoning of his land and it is
fully appropriate for the public AND THE COUNTY OFFICIALS to only allow the
amount of development that can remain compatible with the natural values, not
to mention the current master plan.
4. Not least of which, regarding PUBLIC ACCESS: approval of this plan would
allow CC Golf Course to jump ahead of the current rivers uses in being held
harmless for impacts on river use. Once this development is approved, Edgcomb
will have vested property rights and will not be held responsible should the
eagles abandon their nests or the river cause erosion. The public river users
WILL BE HELD REPSONSIBLE, via their Forest permits, and could face cutbacks of
river use in the future because of this development's impact. I know of no
other example where the newest development is given priority over existing
users regarding future restrictions or responsibility for impacts.
PLEASE ATTEND THE MEETING ON MONDAY NIGHT. YOUR PRESENCE WILL MAKE A
DIFFERENCE.
Thanks Anne. See you at the meeting.
I would just like to reiterate that while it may not be possible to put a
complete halt to this ill-advised project, the current proposal needs serious
and significant alterations in order to protect the river and our right to use
it.
If you don't live in Jackson Hole, but would still like to help, no problem.
Comments from Jackson Hole visitors are every bit as important as those of the
locals. After all, this is everyone's river.
Simply send your comments to the Teton County Planning Commissioners at
tetonplan@tetonwyo.org. The
Planning Commissioners, who will be hosting Mondays meeting, are an advisory
board. The County Commissioners will make the final decision. Email them (or
preferably both boards) at
commissioners@tetonwyo.org. As this is an ongoing process, your comments
need not necessarily reach the commissioners before the Monday meeting, though
doing so may give them something to think about when public comments begin that
evening. If you Cc: your comments to us as well we will keep them in our
archives in case they are needed, for any reason, in the future. Thanks very
much for reading this far and thanks in advance for your comments.
Until next time…
Guy Turck
High Country Flies
