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Our Mission & Vision

Mission: We inspire connection, stewardship, and responsible use of the vast and diverse public lands of the Bridger-Teton National Forest.

Vision: A future where all people feel a deep connection to the Bridger-Teton National Forest through education, partnerships and action, ensuring sustainable human uses exist in balance with land, water, and wildlife.

Our Mission & Vision

Our Story

The idea began in the early 1980s: Teton County locals wanted to donate money to make improvements to trailheads and other projects to support and enhance their favorite national forest. However, it’s not possible to donate money to the U.S. federal government. We needed a nonprofit to support the Bridger-Teton National Forest.

Friends of the Bridger-Teton was officially founded in 2019. Since then, we’ve used grants and donations—both monetary and in-kind items (like bear-proof trash cans and fire rings) to support the BTNF and help promote responsible recreation so that we can all enjoy the forest’s diversity and wealth of resources now and into the future.

In March of 2022, the Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Board (JHTTB) awarded FBT $1 million of grant funding to support marketing and communications efforts focused on responsible recreation and on-the-ground ambassadors on the BTNF. This injection of grant funds into our organization represented a turning point and significant expansion of the impact FBT could have on the forest. The JHTTB continues to be a partner and funder of FBT’s work as an important pillar in visitor management and education in Teton County, Wyoming

Our master agreement with the USFS puts us in a unique position to help fill gaps in funding and capacity so we can do projects similar to the very projects our friends in the 1980s envisioned for the Bridger-Teton National Forest and more. We partner with businesses and NGOs to make stuff happen. Our forest ambassadors work diligently to educate visitors and prevent things from happening (like wildfires and human/wildlife conflicts), and our educational videos and materials help people prepare before they enter the forest.

 

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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

About the BTNF

The Bridger-Teton National Forest is bigger than Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks combined, and home to some of the wildest landscapes in the Lower 48. It has 3 Wilderness areas and more than 2,500 miles of trails, and contains the headwaters of the Green and Snake Rivers. People recreate, recharge, and find refuge on the BTNF. If you haven’t, please explore the forest, whether by skiing, hiking, hunting, fishing, or collecting firewood. Humans aren’t the only users of the BTNF, though: 74 species of mammals, 355 species of birds, six species of reptiles, and 25 species of fish live within its borders.

Our Staff

Cheyenne Sterck

Development Coordinator

Samantha

River Steward

Jack Lahey

Mady Fowler

Intern

Parker Romero

Intern

Carlie Ideker

Interim Executive Director & Program Manager

Shane O’Brien

Project Manager

Monica Elliott

Forest Corps program Manager

Jennifer Ricupero

Partnership Manager

Dina Mishev

Communications Manager

Our Board

Linda Merigliano

Karla Bird

Lisa Franzen, Co-Secretary

Kathy Gross

Marshall Durston

Chuck Butterfield

Tim Gardiner, Vice President

Marc Domsky

Ian MacLeod, Treasurer

Sharon Smitherman

Steve Markason, President

Karen Daubert, Co-Secretary

Ellen Fales, Board Member Emeritus

Forest Corps

We’re excited to introduce the Forest Corps, a new seasonal initiative designed to help fill critical gaps.

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Era Coriz

Ellie Zaher

Mickey Atkins

Abby Franklin

Ash Gunter

LeeAnn Shelton

Elly McFarland

Forest Corps Crew Lead

Monica Elliott

Forest Corps program Manager

Partners

It takes a community to protect an ecosystem.

No one organization can steward a landscape as marvelously expansive, diverse, and complex as the Bridger-Teton National Forest. Always with the best interests of the BTNF in mind, we work with more than 100 partner organizations, including nonprofits like Friends of Pathways, Teton Adaptive Sports, and Tip Top Search and Rescue; government offices like Sublette County Weed & Pest, the Town of Jackson, and the USDA Forest Service; and also private companies like Kate’s Real Food, Roadhouse Brewing Co., and Dometic.

Our ability to be good stewards across a forest the size of Connecticut depends heavily on our ability to work with partners with shared values and priorities.

A huge thank you to all of our partners.

Interested in being a partner of Friends?

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FBT News

Thank You to Executive Director Scott Kosiba

On behalf of the Friends of Bridger-Teton board, we want to announce that our Executive Director, Scott Kosiba, has resigned to focus on his family and his newborn son.   ...

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Rain = Relief, but Fire Restrictions Stay

Northwest Wyoming is finally getting some cooler temps and rain, which is great news. But the rain does not mean that the stage 1 fire restrictions are being lifted. An...

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Bear Spray: This small can can have a big impact

“She was coming at me, and her mouth was open, and I was able to get my bear spray out of the holster. And I shot it from the ground,...

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FBT Forest Corps Is Back—and Clearing the Way

Now in its second season, the nonprofit-funded crew is adding trail-work capacity across the Bridger-Teton—and making room for everyone to get outside. FBT Forest Corps is back for a second...

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Toads that smell like peanuts studied on the BTNF

It’s the BTNF’s mammals—moose, grizzly and black bears, pronghorn, elk—that get most of the attention, but a University of Wyoming doctoral student in ecology has spent part of this summer...

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Stage One Fire Restrictions

Stage 1 Fire Restrictions for Teton Interagency Dispatch Area in Effect Starting July 22, 2026 The Teton Interagency Dispatch Area includes Grand Teton National Park, the Bridger-Teton National Forest, and...

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Ambassadors at work on Shadow Mountain

Sitting just outside the boundary of Grand Teton National Park and with stunning views of the Tetons, Shadow Mountain is the busiest designated dispersed camping area on the Bridger-Teton National...

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Shadow Mountain Camping

Is this the most gorgeous free camping area in the country? If it’s not, sitting on the BTNF’s Jackson District directly across from the main peaks of the Teton Range...

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Meriglianos Receive Teton Conservation Vision Award from Teton Conservation District

In early July, Teton Conservation District announced that FBT Board member Linda Merigliano and her husband, Dr. Mike Merigliano, were the recipients of its 2026 Teton Conservation Vision Award. Together...

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The Four Ws: Ways of Life—Cultural Wisdom and Heritage

The 58-mile long Green River Drift cattle trail, which takes place in and around the Upper Green River Valley in the BTNF’s Pinedale District, has been continuously used since the...

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@bridgertetonfriends Did you know that riparian areas make up less than 4% of Wyoming’s land area, but provide habitat for more than 80% of all vertebrate species in the state? And guess who helps create riparian areas? Beavers! Beavers can build dams that block culverts and flood roads, but they can also create fire breaks and vital riparian habitat. When a young breeding pair of beavers moved into the Alkali Creek drainage around 2019, the Bridger-Teton National Forest installed “beaver deceivers” and fencing so that the Gros Ventre Road and the new residents could co-exist. Today about 6–10 beavers live in the sprawling pond and wetland system the family has created. The habitat also supports trout, waterfowl, songbirds, amphibians, bats, and big-game species and has created a wet buffer that helps wildfires from spreading. Learn more about the Alkali Creek beavers—and maybe see some—by taking a drive down the Gros Ventre Road, on the BTNF’s Jackson District. The beaver complex is at Alkali Creek, which is about 15 miles east on the Gros Ventre Road from the turnoff at Antelope Flats Road. The new sign was made in collab with @wyominguntrapped @jhwildlifefoundation and @wyomingwetlands with artwork by @willmunford_art #alkalicreek #bridgertetonnationalforest #bridgertetonfriends #wyominguntrapped #wyomingwildlife On behalf of the Friends of Bridger-Teton board, we want to announce that our Executive Director, Scott Kosiba, has resigned today to focus on his family and his newborn son, Otis. During his tenure, Scott made incredible contributions to Friends of the Bridger-Teton, helping build and strengthen the organization and pivoting to meet many challenges to support stewardship of the Bridger-Teton National Forest and our many community partners. His leadership, dedication, and deep commitment to public lands have made a lasting difference, and we are profoundly grateful for all he has given to our organization and to the mission we share. While we are saddened to see Scott leave, we wholeheartedly support his decision to prioritize his family and embrace this new direction at such an important time in his life. We are grateful for the time, energy, and heart he has invested in Friends of the Bridger-Teton, and we wish Scott, his wife, and little Otis nothing but happiness and success in the years ahead. Thank you, Scott, for your friendship, hard work, and unwavering dedication to the care of our public lands. You have made a difference, and you will be deeply missed. @outsidemagazine interviewed FBT board member Linda Merigliano about the August 10 bear encounter on the History Trail on Teton Pass. “Even though these are popular and frequently used trails, they still are backcountry,” Merigliano told the magazine. “You can expect to encounter an animal anywhere in the forest.” Read the entire story in the link in our bio. #bridgertetonnationalforest #wyomingwildlife #bridgertetonfriends #abearbitmeonthebutt Even within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, a sanctuary for the largest concentration of wildlife in the coterminous U.S. (unique to the Lower 48, it continues to support most mammal and bird species that were present before the 1880s), the Bridger-Teton National Forest stands out as particularly important for wildlife. It supports 74 species of mammals, 355 bird species, 12 reptile or amphibian species, and 25 species of fish and has healthy populations of predator species—such as grizzly bears, wolves, and mountain lions. The Race to Raise Giving Season runs—no pun intended—through 5 p.m. September 26. Every donation we get through it is partially matched, allowing us to do even more work on our favorite national forest. Donate to us through Foundation 23’s link in our bio. #nationalnonprofitday #nationalnonprofitday2026 #nonprofitday #nonprofits Join longtime BTNF staffer and current FBT Board Member Linda Merigliano on a guided hike of what might be one of the most interesting trails on the BTNF: the Jackson Ranger District’s History Trail. Before the forest service built Old Pass Road in 1913, today’s History Trail is approximately the route wagons and freight sleighs took over Teton Pass. Wagons and sleighs traversed this track by the hundreds and numerous rocks along it were painted as “billboards” advertising businesses and services in Jackson. Today reminders of this past include an old tractor, the engine of which was once used to power an early ski lift in the area, and a billboard for Reed Hotel, which is faded but still visible on a flat-faced boulder on the side of the trail. Please rsvp using to the email in the flyer. #bridgertetonnationalforest #bridgertetonfriends #tetonpass #jacksonholehistory Jackson Hole historian Doris Platts salvaged this route. After Old Pass Road was built, the wagon route fell into obscurity. Platts searched for and marked it in the 1980s and 1990s. In 2010, the Forest Service, with the help of Friends of Pathways, the Wyoming Business Council, and volunteer Boy Scouts, finished reconstructing the trail.

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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