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Dozens of summit attendees in sherpa vests, five panel hats and denim overalls attended Tanya Anderson’s presentation on the Town of Jackson’s sustainability plan last week.
Anderson, the town’s ecosystem stewardship administrator, began creating the over 80 page long planning document after she was hired in 2022.
“I was pretty eager to jump into whatever tasks were assigned to me at that point,” Anderson said. “It is my dream job.”
Jackson has had sustainability plans before that aim to reduce environmental harm by suggesting actions and goals for the town, like reducing emissions.
But this new plan that was approved by Town Councilors in July, expanded its scope from strictly town actions and targets to community wide goals.
Anderson was “thrilled” Jackson was chosen to host the climate summit and hopes it gives electeds and community members ideas on how to move forward on goals like “net-zero” by 2030 . (Dante Filpula Ankney / KHOL)
“The more I thought about it and the more I talked to people, the bigger it ended up getting,” Anderson said, “Where it went from an emissions reduction plan for municipal operations to incorporating these other aspects: the climate resilience, the water quality and wildlife and the values that we hold so dear in our community.”
She held informational sessions around town to engage many voices, especially those she felt may not have a seat at the table, like Jackson’s immigrant and Indigenous community members.
Additionally, one of the summit’s main objectives is to help mountain towns achieve the goal of “net-zero” carbon emissions by 2030.
The new sustainability plan includes that goal and although there’s been some progress growing renewable energy sources and making buildings more energy efficient, she said they still have a lot more work to do to get to “net-zero” by 2030.
“Our emissions have largely increased,” Anderson said. “Overall, the trend has been up.”
Despite strategies and goals, she said funding projects remains a major challenge.
