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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

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?

Become a Partner

FBT News

WyoFile Features FBT Forest Corps

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How to Dispose of Bear Spray

Everyone knows that carrying bear spray is essential when recreating in bear country. Harder to know is how to dispose of half-used or expired cans. Because bear spray is an...

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JHMR Lift Tickets & Lodging Support Stewardship of the BTNF

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort has operated on the BTNF for more than 60 years under a special use permit from the U.S. Forest Service. Thanks to the Ski Conservation Fund,...

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Greys River’s Justin Laycock on the radio

Justin Laycock, Greys River District Ranger, stepped into the SVI Radio studio on Wednesday, August 26. Laycock summarized the current condition of the Fish Creek area south of Smoot, one...

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BTNF-FBT Ambassador Randy Roberts Hikes with VP Vance

Public lands are for everyone, including the Vice President. Ambassadors like Randy Roberts help take care of them.

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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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@bridgertetonfriends @WyoFile reporter Katie Klingsporn chatted with FBT Forest Corps Program Manager Monica Elliott about what the crew has done so far this summer. “This summer, the crew has worked six hitches lasting eight days and a couple lasting four. Along with projects like the Big Piney region trail, Elliott and the four-person team have cleared 700 downed trees from 80 miles of trail across the forest, including the Pack Creek Fire burn area.” Read the entire article in the link in our bio. #wyofile #fbtforestcorps #bridgertetonfriends #publiclands There are many things that make the Bridger-Teton National Forest so special, including glaciers. The Wind River Range, most of which is in the BTNF, has 63 glaciers. Together these glaciers cover 17 square miles, which is greater than the total of all other glaciers in the American Rockies (which total 12 square miles). Help FBT with its mission to inspire connection, stewardship, and responsible use of the vast and diverse public lands of the Bridger-Teton National Forest with a donation via Foundation 23’s Race to Raise. Every donation we get through it is partially matched, allowing us to do even more work on our favorite national forest. The Race to Raise Giving Season runs—no pun intended—through 5 p.m. September 26. Donate to us through Foundation 23’s link in our bio. Everyone knows that carrying bear spray is essential when recreating in bear country. Harder to know is how to dispose of half-used or expired cans. Because bear spray is an ultra-potent pepper spray—it contains a concentrated form of the substance that makes chili peppers spicy—packaged in a highly pressurized aerosol canister, it is classified as a hazardous material. If thrown in standard trash bins, it can easily rupture inside garbage trucks or landfills, creating severe respiratory hazards for municipal waste management workers. Click the link in our bio to see where you can dispose of bear spray around the BTNF. Another reason how green it is for this time of year is gorgeous: As of Sept. 1, the Stage 1 fire restrictions for the Bridger-Teton National Forest, Grand Teton National Park, and the National Elk Refuge have been lifted. Recent precipitation, cooler temperatures, and higher relative humidities have lessened the threat of wildfire. All public land users are advised to remain vigilant and use caution when building and maintaining a campfire to prevent unwanted human-caused fires. While Stage 1 fire restrictions have been lifted, it remains illegal to leave them unattended or abandoned. So far this year, Teton Interagency personnel have extinguished 99 unattended and abandoned campfires. Unattended and abandoned campfires can quickly escalate into wildfires; if your campfire sparks a wildfire, you can be held responsible for the cost of putting it out. How to prevent human-caused fires The safest option is to not build a campfire at all. Dress warmly and use layers instead of relying on a campfire for warmth. If you choose to have a campfire where it’s allowed, have a plan for putting it out before ever lighting it, and: Select your campfire location carefully, free from overhanging trees and clear of grass and brush. When in dispersed camping areas in the Forest, only use pre-existing campfire rings, do not create new rings. Keep your campfire small and under control. Campfires should be avoided on windy days. Never leave a campfire unattended or abandoned. Have a shovel and water bucket on hand. Use several gallons of water to fully extinguish your campfire. Drown, stir, feel and repeat until the ashes are cold to the touch. Break up charred logs and cover all remains with dirt. We love all of the BTNF-FBT Ambassadors! A HUGE thanks to this summer’s dedicated crew, who were posted on all 6 of the BTNF’s districts. Ambassadors helped prevent abandoned campfires from becoming wildfires and educated campers about how to properly store food in an ecosystem home to black and grizzly bears. And a huge thanks to Loomis Ranch for hosting the crew last week. #bridgertetonnationalforest #bridgertetonfriends

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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