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Our Mission & Vision

We bring the community together to support the Bridger-Teton National Forest where it is most needed, ensuring it remains a land of many uses for us all.

Our Mission & Vision

Our History

The idea for a nonprofit organization that existed to support the Bridger-Teton National Forest was talked about as early as the 1980s. There were locals who wanted to help their favorite national forest by making donations. But it’s not possible to donate money to the U.S. federal government. Friends of the Bridger-Teton was officially founded in 2019. Since then, we’ve used grants and donations—both monetary and in-kind like bear-proof trash cans—to support the BTNF and help promote responsible recreation on it so that we can all enjoy the forest’s diversity and wealth of resources now and into the future.

 

Infinite Opportunities for Exploration

The 3.4 million acres of the BTNF cross five counties and are managed by six ranger districts. The BTNF is the single largest mass of public land within the 15-million acre Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, itself the largest intact ecosystem in the Lower 48.

Videos de habilidades del senderismo

Estos videos explicá ¿cómo prevenir accidentes? ¿Cómo dejar un lugar mejor de como lo encontraste? ¿Qué encargar para una caminata? ¿Y cómo protegerse de y cohabitar con osos?

Videos de habilidades del senderismo

Happenings with Friends

BTNF Ambassador Artist in Residence

Jess Moore was our first-ever Ambassador Artist in Residence

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A Bear that Transcended Boundaries: 399 and the BTNF

 

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BFFs of the BTNF

BFFs of the BTNF print campaign launches in local publications

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FBT’s new radio station: 1710 AM

  In July, FBT launched a new radio station with tips on how to recreate responsibly on the BTNF, and it’s getting a boost from Indiana Jones. Turn the AM...

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August 2023 Newsletter

  There’s a lot going on during the busiest month on the BTNF. Trailheads and campgrounds are crowded and our Ambassadors are busy educating forest users about responsible recreation and...

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Early Summer 2023

Hello Friends, Summer has finally arrived in Wyoming and I could not be happier! So much has happened over the last few months in the life of Friends of the...

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Blackrock Field Camp

Since its founding in 2016, Blackrock Field Camp has helped several hundred campers from the Wind River Reservation develop and deepen their awareness of their ancestral and/or public lands; connect...

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The Wyoming Range National Recreation Trail

The Wyoming Range National Recreation Trail (WRNRT) is a 75-mile-long trail spanning the crest of the Wyoming Range and connecting several of the BTNF’s six districts. It passes through the...

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Wildlife Ambassador Spotlight

“The dedication and hours put in by our Wildlife Ambassadors is a demonstration of the caliber of help we are fortunate to receive. Our ambassadors are able to maintain their...

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Friends of the Bridger-Teton Awarded Major Grants

In 2022, the Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Board (JHTTB) awarded its largest amount of funding to a single project to date to Friends of the Bridger-Teton. The $1 million...

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Our Staff

Margo Feingold

Programs Manager

Jennifer Ricupero

Partnership Manager

Dina Mishev

Communications Manager

Scott Kosiba

Executive Director

Our Board

Ian MacLeod

Gracy Carpenter

Sharon Smitherman

Cyndi Bardman

Steve Markason

Karen Daubert

Ellen Fales

Susan Marsh

Partners

It takes a community to protect an ecosystem.

Friends couldn’t do the work it does without the help and support of dozens of partner organizations and businesses. Each of these partners has committed to stewarding our public lands.

A huge thank you to all of our partners.

Interested in being a partner of Friends?

Become a Partner
@bridgertetonfriends Photographer Wade McKoy is a BFF of the BTNF because its mountains have given him a skier's life since the 1970s. Read more in this week's @jhnewsandguide and JH Daily, and make sure to keep an eye out for his gorgeous book "The Arc of Skiing Jackson Hole" this winter. . #bffofthebtnf #beabffofthebtnf #responsiblerecreation @visitjacksonhole #bridgertetonnationalforest #publiclands #publicland #nationalforest #nationalforests #bridgertetonfriends #jacksonhole @wademckoy @jacksonhole If you're feeling like taking part in Giving Tuesday, we'd be honored if you'd consider the work that we do to keep the BTNF the amazing resource it is for its many, many users now and into the future. Read about our impact here: https://www.btfriends.org/impact-report Make a donation at: https://www.btfriends.org/donate #givingtuesday #publiclands #nationalforests #bridgertetonnationalforest #bridgertetonfriends #nationalforest #publicland #givingtuesday #bffofthebtnf #bridgertetonnationalforest In case you missed the article in the Nov. 22 issue of @jhnewsandguide about our amazing ambassadors, Clay Alderson and Claudia Rector, we want to give them a shout-out. The couple, after retiring from careers as a wildlife biologist (Rector) and with the National Park Service (Alderson), restored and then were caretakers of the BTNF's historic Goosewing Guard Station in the Upper Gros Ventre River drainage for 11 years. Oct. 12 was Rector and Alderson’s last day as caretakers. The Goosewing guard station’s history began in the early 1920s, when forest crews built a small log cabin to facilitate work in the area. That cabin is no longer on the property, and no evidence remains of its construction. The "modern" facilities — the dwelling, the barn, garage, and two gas houses — were built in 1934 and 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. When the couple first approached the BTNF about living in the station, it was in disrepair, without water or electricity. But Clay and Claudia's work made the guard station usable again. Trail crews now stay in the bunk house. Forest managers, game wardens and wildlife biologists drop by when in the area. Firefighters from across the country visit to chat with the couple. “Clay and Claudia were really an institution out there,” said David Wilkinson, the recreation technician and travel planner for the Jackson District. “They’ve been here long enough, they’re directly identified with Goosewing Guard Station.” Read more in the archives at jhnewsandguide.com Photos and text @jhnewsandguide / @bllyarnold #Bridgertetonnationalforest #goosewing #bridgertetonfriends #uppergrosventre #grosventre #btnfambassadors It's time to help wildlife get through the toughest season. Starting Dec. 1, portions of the BTNF's Jackson District that are critical winter habitat are closed to human travel. Find a map of the closures on the website of our friends @tetonconservation — https://www.tetonconservation.org/winter-wildlife-closures #bridgertetonnationalforest #bridgertetonfriends #bffofthebtnf #dontpoachthepowder #publiclands #nationalforest #wyomingwildlife #responsiblerecreation #winterwildlifeclosures #tetonconservationdistrict #wyomingwinter @visitjacksonhole The BTNF is 3.4 million acres and we've got at least as many reasons we're thankful for it. What are you thankful for this year? #bridgertetonnationalforest #bridgertetonfriends #thankful #bffofthebtnf #nationalforest #publiclands #publicland #nationalforests

We acknowledge with respect that our facilities are situated on the aboriginal land of the Shoshone Bannock. Eastern Shoshone. Northern Arapaho. Crow. Assiniboine. Sioux. Gros Ventre. Nez Perce.

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