Flora and Fauna
From Sustaining Jackson Hole Wiki
Jackson Hole’s alpine environment, wildlife and native plant species – part of the largest intact ecosystem in the lower 48 states – make it an attractive destination for millions of tourists each year. In addition to rugged mountains and wild places, the visibility of Jackson Hole’s wildlife is one of the area’s major attractions.
Elk are one of the most easily spotted species. There are currently about 13,000 elk in the Jackson Hole Herd. About half that number spends the winter on the National Elk Refuge just north of the Town of Jackson. In the summer, the elk herd spreads out across Jackson Hole, Grand Teton National Park, the Gros Ventre Range, and parts of southern Yellowstone Park. There are also about 2,600 moose and 600 bison in Jackson Hole, as well as a range of other species whose numbers are much more difficult to pinpoint. Other resident species include mule deer, antelope, bighorn sheep, black bear, grizzly bear, mountain lions, wolverines, several species of eagles and hawks, trumpeter swans, and wide range of other animals.
These species rely on the natural habitat located around the valley and mountains. It is precisely because there is so much protected land around Jackson Hole that wildlife populations do well. However, due to the influence of people, the flora of the region – which provides the essential habitat for a wide range of wildlife – has changed significantly over the last 80 to 100 years. In addition, there are many other threats to that habitat. The absence of wildfire due to fire suppression is one of the major things that has changed the landscape, and noxious weeds threaten to overtake native plants in some parts of the valley. People have also built homes in much of the historic winter range – the bottoms of valleys where wildlife spends the winter – and in migration corridors. Because winter range has been usurped by development, federal and state agencies supplementally feed elk and bison during much of the winter.
Native trees in the Jackson Hole area include conifers such as lodgepole pine, subalpine fir, Douglas fir, blue spruce, Engelmann spruce and whitebark pine. Other native trees include aspen and cottonwood. Many decades of fire suppression have allowed lodgepole pine, subalpine fir and spruce to age and dominate a landscape that previously was much more diverse. Wildfires yielded a broader patchwork of different plant species, which resulted in aspen – a key habitat type for wildlife – being much more prevalent. In addition, wildfire resulted in more widespread distribution of mountain shrubs, including serviceberry, chokecherry, currants and antelope bitterbrush. The changes in the landscape also mean that many mountain shrubs are growing to older ages, which yields less nutrition for wildlife. Finally, there has been a corresponding reduction in the amount of forbes – wildflowers and other non-woody plants – and native grasses, which also are key food sources for wildlife.
Sources: Wyoming Game and Fish Department, National Park Service
