Big moves are coming from Washington, and they just might land right here in Jackson.
At this week’s Western Governors’ Association meeting in New Mexico, U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued a bold new secretarial order aimed at tightening bonds between national parks and their neighboring “gateway communities” like Jackson. The idea? Make life better for both the parks and the people who support them.
👥 Meet Your New Park Liaison
The order mandates that every national park and monument designate a gateway community coordinator. A liaison tasked with organizing quarterly meetings between local leaders and park officials.
In Burgum’s words, this will “formalize close coordination between each park and the local gateway communities that are essential to the success and sustainability of each of the national parks.”
That’s big news for towns like Jackson, the southern doorstep to Grand Teton National Park, and Cody, the eastern gateway to Yellowstone. These places don’t just border the parks; they breathe life into them.
🛠️ From Desk Duty to Trail Duty
In addition to the new liaison role, Burgum dropped a bit of hard truth about current staffing. “I somehow don’t think we need 1,000 people in communications and 2,000 Twitter sites,” he said.
The order pushes for restructuring the National Park Service workforce, aiming to put more boots on the ground and fewer in cubicles. The logic? Park employees should actually be in parks, clearing trails, fixing bridges, and helping with the long list of deferred maintenance projects rather than typing from offices far removed from the smell of sagebrush.
💬 Why This Matters
Gateway towns like ours don’t just sell souvenirs and sandwiches; they’re vital to the park experience. This new structure gives locals more say, more access, and a seat at the table as decisions get made.
As Secretary Burgum put it, the private sector and park system are “mutually reinforcing” forces. In other words: If the parks thrive, we all do.
📄 You can read the full Secretarial Order here: SO 3434 – Strengthening Coordination with Gateway Communities
Stay tuned, we’ll be watching how this plays out locally and whether this new liaison role helps bring national priorities closer to home.
AntlersArch founder and the voice behind Teton Tattle.
