Meet FBT Board Member Tim Gardiner
Tim Gardiner’s work had him living in Canada, Switzerland, Singapore, England, and New York City, and when he and his wife Nancy were able to retire they chose Jackson Hole. Growing up in Montreal and raising their family in New York, the Gardiners skied a lot on the East Coast. “Eventually we said ‘enough is enough’ and went to 12 or 13 different places in the West and Jackson Hole was our favorite,” he says. Today Tim is a Mountain Host at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, which is one of three ski areas on the BTNF, and joined the Board of Friends of the Bridger-Teton in early 2025.
“The Bridger-Teton National Forest is a fantastic treasure that we have here in Wyoming,” Tim says. “I look forward to helping educate people about it now and in the future and helping the Forest Service improve outdoor experiences for everyone. The BTNF is not something for people to take for granted or disrespect because it is publicly owned—it is something for us to improve for the future.”
In addition to downhill skiing, Tim and Nancy also enjoy hiking, cross-country skiing, and kayaking on the BTNF, and they harvest their Christmas tree on the BTNF every year. Although their Labrador, Lake, is now 13 and not quite as active as she once was, they love exploring with her. “Ski Lake [in the BTNF’s Jackson Ranger District] is a favorite destination of hers,” Tim says. The weekend before Tim chatted with us, he, Nancy, and Lake were at Slide Lake.
While Tim is most familiar with the BTNF District closest to him, the Jackson Ranger District, he looks forward to getting to know the other five districts, too. “Part of what makes the BTNF special is its diversity of landscapes,” he says. “I am certainly looking forward to exploring districts like Kemmerer and Pinedale more.”
How Tim Recreates Responsibly
“I check—and respect—the avy forecast every day and know what areas of the forest are closed to protect wintering wildlife. We’ve worked to train our dog, Lake, to be very obedient and when we’re out on the forest and she’s off-leash, she’s under voice control.”