Our Mission

The Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation advances wildlife conservation driven by science, collaboration, and a community of volunteers.

We accomplish our mission primarily through on-the-ground projects that we guide in collaboration with agencies, organizations and private land owners. We also gather and disseminate wildlife data that can inform wildlife-friendly policies and educate the public on how to reduce potential conflict with our wild neighbors.

Our Story

The Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation was formed when a small group of passionate citizens aimed to create a more wildlife-friendly community. Early founders of the organization were distressed to witness hundreds of deer and elk being struck and killed by vehicles on Jackson Hole’s increasingly busy highways. They organized first to combat that problem. The barriers (and dangers) that our valley’s fences present to migrating wildlife became the second issue around which the organization galvanized support, and dozens of volunteers were spurred to action, many of whom are still involved today. Removing or mitigating barriers to wildlife movement remains central to our work.

As it was then, our administrative structure remains intentionally small. Staff is principally concerned with organizing hundreds of volunteers in order to improve conditions for wildlife efficiently, and forging lasting partnerships that form the foundation of a wildlife-friendly community. Those volunteers and partners enable us to expand our reach and heighten our impact. With their help, we coordinate on-the-ground projects to benefit wildlife, build a community of citizen-scientists, collect and share wildlife migration and observation data to support landscape-scale conservation, and educate the public on compatible co-existence between humans and wildlife.

We value hands-on work and “giving back” to wildlife. We recognize with gratitude that the Jackson Hole conservation legacy stretching back to the 19th century provides us the opportunity to enjoy the wildness we see each day. Wildlife managers, biologists, public officials, business owners, anglers, hunters, ranchers, climbers, skiers, writers, artists, photographers and many more have blazed that trail, and many more are needed, from all segments of society. Many hands together. Giving back to wildlife.