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Our Mission & Vision

Friends of the Bridger-Teton works to ensure everyone can enjoy the diversity and wealth of resources on the fifth largest national forest in the U.S. now and into the future.

Our Mission & Vision

Our History

The idea for a nonprofit organization that existed to support the Bridger-Teton National Forest was talked about as early as the 1980s. There were locals who wanted to help their favorite national forest by making donations. But it’s not possible to donate money to the U.S. federal government. Friends of the Bridger-Teton was officially founded in 2018. Since then, we’ve used grants and donations—both monetary and in-kind like bear-proof trash cans—to support the BTNF and help promote responsible recreation on it so that we can all enjoy the forest’s diversity and wealth of resources now and into the future.

 

Infinite Opportunities for Exploration

The 3.4 million acres of the BTNF cross five counties and are managed by six ranger districts. The BTNF is the single largest mass of public land within the 15-million acre Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, itself the largest intact ecosystem in the Lower 48.

Videos de habilidades del senderismo

Estos videos explicá ¿cómo prevenir accidentes? ¿Cómo dejar un lugar mejor de como lo encontraste? ¿Qué encargar para una caminata? ¿Y cómo protegerse de y cohabitar con osos?

Videos de habilidades del senderismo

Happenings with Friends

BFFs of the BTNF

BFFs of the BTNF print campaign launches in local publications

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FBT’s new radio station: 1710 AM

  In July, FBT launched a new radio station with tips on how to recreate responsibly on the BTNF, and it’s getting a boost from Indiana Jones. Turn the AM...

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August 2023 Newsletter

  There’s a lot going on during the busiest month on the BTNF. Trailheads and campgrounds are crowded and our Ambassadors are busy educating forest users about responsible recreation and...

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Early Summer 2023

Hello Friends, Summer has finally arrived in Wyoming and I could not be happier! So much has happened over the last few months in the life of Friends of the...

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Blackrock Field Camp

Since its founding in 2016, Blackrock Field Camp has helped several hundred campers from the Wind River Reservation develop and deepen their awareness of their ancestral and/or public lands; connect...

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The Wyoming Range National Recreation Trail

The Wyoming Range National Recreation Trail (WRNRT) is a 75-mile-long trail spanning the crest of the Wyoming Range and connecting several of the BTNF’s six districts. It passes through the...

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Wildlife Ambassador Spotlight

“The dedication and hours put in by our Wildlife Ambassadors is a demonstration of the caliber of help we are fortunate to receive. Our ambassadors are able to maintain their...

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Friends of the Bridger-Teton Awarded Major Grants

In 2022, the Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Board (JHTTB) awarded its largest amount of funding to a single project to date to Friends of the Bridger-Teton. The $1 million...

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Joy of Exploring

Finding your own beautiful places—rather than rely on social media—benefits your brain, the landscape and local wildlife.   “My thinking changes when I step off the trail. I become more...

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When You Have to Eat All Day – Hyperphagia

Fall is the season when bears enter hyperphagia, a state in which they’re constantly in search of food and are more likely to come into human-occupied areas. You can help...

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Our Staff

Margo Feingold

Programs Manager

Jennifer Ricupero

Partnership Manager

Dina Mishev

Communications Manager

Scott Kosiba

Executive Director

Our Board

Ian MacLeod

Gracy Carpenter

Sharon Smitherman

Cyndi Bardman

Steve Markason

Karen Daubert

Ellen Fales

Susan Marsh

Partners

It takes a community to protect an ecosystem.

Friends couldn’t do the work it does without the help and support of dozens of partner organizations and businesses. Each of these partners has committed to stewarding our public lands.

A huge thank you to all of our partners.

Interested in being a partner of Friends?

Become a Partner
@bridgertetonfriends #flashbackfriday Thinking of that time we went backpacking in the Winds. Did you know there are more than 2,000 miles of trails on the BTNF? To put this in perspective— if you laid the BTNF's trails end-to-end, they'd make it from Pinedale to Orlando, Florida, or from Pinedale to Skagway, Alaska, or from Pinedale to Lake Placid, New York. That's A LOT of walking (or riding)! #bridgertetonnationalforest #bridgertetonfriends #alpinelakes #wyomingwildlands #pinedalewyoming #publiclands #nationalforests #nationalforest #lettheoutsidein #wyomingtrails As much as it sucks, when you encounter mud on the trail, go through it, and not around. Going around the mud can damage vegetation on the side and widen the trail. #recreateresponsibly #bridgertetonnationalforest #bridgertetonfriends #beabffofthebtnf #bffofthebtnf #leavenotrace #publiclands #nationalforests #springhiking #mudseason Thanks to everyone who respected the BTNF's winter wildlife closures. While these closures are now over for the season, do keep in mind that wildlife still has limited energy and fat stores this time of year. Females have been overwintering while pregnant and still need to give birth and nourish and defend their young. We can continue to help out wildlife making sure to give them space, watching for wildlife on roads, driving more slowly at night, making noise when out on trails, and not knowingly approaching any wildlife (and forcing them to move). #respectwildlife #responsiblerecreation #bridgertetonnationalforest #bridgertetonfriends #dontpoachthepowder #beabffofthebtnf #btnf #publiclands #publicland #nationalforest #nationalforests #recreateresponsibly Sam Pope is a Best Friend of the BTNF by being a day-to-day steward of the forest. See more in this week's issue of @jhnewsandguide #bridgertetonnationalforest #bridgertetonfriends #bffofthebtnf #btnfbff #beabffofthebtnf @visitjacksonhole @wypope #popeproductions #publiclands #nationalforests #nationalforest #responsiblerecreation #btnf #wildlands #wyomingwildlands Wyoming is one of 11 Western states across which the "Sagebrush Sea" spreads. A vast treeless panorama, the Sagebrush Sea encompasses some 250 million square miles of harsh high desert (including parts of the BTNF) that more than 300 species call home. We love that @tetonweedpest chose to highlight this ubiquitious-but-often-overlooked native plant as part of its #nativeplantmonth messaging. #sagebrushsea #sagebrush #NativeSpecies #IndigenousSpecies #highdesert #WyomingPlants #bridgertetonnationalforest #bridgertetonfriends

We acknowledge with respect that our facilities are situated on the aboriginal land of the Shoshone Bannock. Eastern Shoshone. Northern Arapaho. Crow. Assiniboine. Sioux. Gros Ventre. Nez Perce.

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