A Wyoming conservation group is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year with a new director.
The Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance started in the seventies when locals got concerned about development in the valley. It works with other local groups on issues ranging from oil and gas development to housing costs. “Many of the things that are our successes are things that you don’t see in our community,” new director Craig Benjamin says. “Like an annexation that would have been very bad for wildlife and the community character of our valley. There was a waterslide park. There were plans to widen a highway up in Rosie’s Ridge.”
Benjamin spent seven years in Washington state promoting bicycling and pedestrian infrastructure before moving back to Jackson Hole, where he developed the Jackson Hole Conservation Leadership Institute. He says he wants to work to help people and the environment co-exist.
“So my vision is to empower the whole community to live in balance with nature. And that involves collaborating with our partners and citizens to work on the big challenges we face in the community.”
Benjamin says one of the biggest challenges now is wildfire prevention. He started his job this week.
