National Parks Conservation Association Opposes Park Service Move to Open Grand Teton National Park Lands to Hunting

“The National Parks Conservation Association strongly opposes the recent decision by the National Park Service (NPS) to turn over wildlife management authority for inholdings within Grand Teton National Park to the State of Wyoming. This decision is not in the interest of park visitors’ enjoyment and safety, and will ultimately jeopardize the park’s ability to manage wildlife for future generations to enjoy.”

“This is not an issue about whether or not to support hunting, but rather over who makes the call in wildlife management within our national parks.  While inholdings are privately owned properties within national park boundaries, federal regulations strictly prohibit hunting on these lands, regardless of ownership. As we understand it, this decision undermines this longstanding regulation and is not in the best interests of the park, its wildlife or the visiting public.”

“The state-held inholdings within Grand Teton National Park include ‘path of the pronghorn,’ the country’s first protected public lands wildlife migration corridor, which NPCA and many partners worked for years to protect. It is heart breaking to see the potential for this work to be unraveled.”

“The National Parks Conservation Association urges the park service to withdraw its plans to hand over wildlife management authority to the state and engage in a public process to reach a solution that does not undermine the National Park Service or put our national, natural treasures like Grand Teton National Park in jeopardy.”

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About National Parks Conservation Association
Since 1919, the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has been the leading voice in safeguarding our national parks. NPCA and its more than one million members and supporters work together to protect and preserve our nation’s natural, historical, and cultural heritage for future generations. For more information, visit www.npca.org.