Council opts for partner-based ecological monitoring at Kearns Meadow instead of a six-figure contract

Jackson — After a detailed staff presentation on March 16, the Town Council directed staff to pursue a partner-based ecological monitoring approach for Kearns (Garner) Meadow rather than awarding the highest-scoring vendor contract as proposed in the recent RFP process.

Tanya Anderson, the town’s ecosystem stewardship administrator, told council the proposals ranged widely — from roughly $100,000-plus (the locally based firm “Y2”) up to several hundred thousand dollars for multi-year programs. Anderson recommended rejecting the proposals because staff were not confident the methods submitted would definitively show recreation impacts on ecological values for a relatively small, 42-acre parcel and because local nonprofits and agencies already perform some of the monitoring tasks at lower cost.

As an alternative, staff proposed a mixed approach: use Friends of Pathways trail counters for seasonal visitation estimates, contract acoustic monitoring with the Teton Raptor Center (estimated at about $10,000 per year plus approximately $5,000 in equipment), leverage Teton County Weed & Pest for invasive-plant tracking, and use interns or ambassadors to collect observational data and compile a summary report. Anderson estimated a combined partner model could cost in the order of $20,000 a year plus equipment and staff time; the town currently has $9,000 budgeted and the item is not in this fiscal year’s budget.

Council members pressed for apples-to-apples cost comparisons and asked how long a contract would take to begin. Staff said a contract could be in place by May and that work would likely extend for several years because construction and post-construction monitoring are multi-year efforts. The council voted to direct staff to work with nonprofit and agency partners and to return with final costs and contract language for council approval; the motion passed on the voice vote recorded by the chair.

Why it matters: the monitoring plan is a condition of the previously approved conditional-use permit for park amenities at Kearns Meadow. The question before the council was how best to spend limited funds to capture meaningful ecological indicators (birds and amphibians, vegetative cover, overwintering-wildlife behavior) while minimizing human disturbance to wildlife.

What happens next: staff will negotiate partner agreements, refine cost estimates, and present a contract or budget request to council — likely on a consent agenda — for approval in the coming budget cycle.

(Attributions: presentation and numbers from Tanya Anderson, Ecosystem Stewardship Administrator; cost estimates and alternatives referenced Y2, Teton Raptor Center, Friends of Pathways and Teton County Weed & Pest.)