Bison Management in the Jackson Hole Valley, Wyoming, USA
Case details
- Resource system
- Watershed and associated topography
- Resource units
- Grass and forage
- Location
- Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Location map
Description
The Bison management case in the Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) is a new case that will be integrated into the Common Pool-Resource (CPR) database. The Jackson Hole Valley (JHV) is a prime example of an iconic place. The natural environment surrounding the town of Jackson, Wyoming, is the resource system upon which wildlife and human settlements rely. This natural environment provides numerous streams of goods and services to all wildlife and many interested subgroups. For many of these subgroups, the natural beauty of the JHV brings substantial tourism to enjoy the natural ecosystem. Today the natural ecosystem within the JHV is subject to multiple anthropogenic and natural pressures. There has been a substantial increase in the human settlement throughout the JHV. Therefore, there is greater competition for habitat between humans and wildlife.
Institutional analysis
Institutional analysis document
Download documentPreview document
Coded institutional data
No coded case data available.
System representation
Resource system
In the valley of Jackson Hole the resource is the natural environment surrounding the town. The natural environment provides streams of goods and services to wildlife and resource users. Jackson Hole contains many ecosystems that are limited in primary production.
Resource users
The resource users within JH include: sportsmen, recreationalists, artists, and tribal nations. Each resource user receives a different good or service from the resource system.
Public infrastructure
The public infrastructure are the rules and regulations that govern the resource. The public infrastructure is complex, in that there are numerous jurisdictional boundaries and regulations pertinent to those boundaries.
Public infrastructure providers
The public infrastructure providers manage and enforce rules within their jurisdictional boundaries within the Jackson Hole Valley. The agencies include: the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD), the National Elk Refuge (NER), the Grand Teton National Park (GTNP), and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS).
Relationship 1
Resource users receive goods and services from the natural environment. Sportsmen who hunt bison receive goods in the form of game. Many of the resource users receive services in the form of wildlife viewing opportunities and outdoor experiences.
Relationship 2
The relationship between resource users and public infrastructure providers is based on the monitoring of the providers’ performance. This is oftentimes assessed by the perceptions of resource users regarding the outcomes on the natural environment and wildlife populations.
Relationship 3
The public infrastructure providers build and maintain ‘hard’ infrastructure (e.g. roads, fences, irrigation, and closures). They also determine ‘soft’ infrastructure (e.g. rules and regulations) that affect the use of the resource system and the take of bison.
Relationship 4
This interaction includes the impacts of the built infrastructure and regulations on the resource. Supplemental feeding of elk has had the unintended consequence of growth in the resident bison population.
Relationship 5
Concerns the impact of the public infrastructure on the resource-harvest dynamics. The jurisdictional complexity of the public infrastructure has limited the effectiveness of hunting as a population management tool.
Relationship 6
This interaction relates to the monitoring and sanctioning of established regulations and the coproduction of infrastructure. Bison may be hunted within the jurisdictional boundaries of the National Elk Refuge and the Bridger Teton National Forest.
Exogenous drivers (7) - Resource
(none specified)Exogenous drivers (7) - Infrastructure
(none specified)Exogenous drivers (8) - Users
(none specified)Exogenous drivers (8) - Providers
(none specified)Human infrastructure (users)
(none specified)Human infrastructure (providers)
(none specified)Sources
Contributors
- Ute Brady, Arizona State University
- Natalia Rodriguez, Arizona State University
Bibliography
- (2007). Record of Decision: Final Bison and Elk Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement.
- (2013). Robustness Analysis of the Jackson Hole Valley: the Bison Management Case.
- (2014). An assessment of mission compatibility - from the perspective of robustness (Jackson Hole Valley, Wyoming).
- (2013). Robustness analysis of the Jackson Hole Valley.