When the Karns family sold over 40 acres of meadow east of the Teton County Library more than two decades ago, their vision was that the open space would become a “people’s park.”
That’s slated to happen in 2026 when cross country ski trails, picnic areas and a parking lot break ground at Karns Meadow.
Anticipating the change, the Town of Jackson is also starting an ambassador program for the park to supplement existing clean up efforts and add educational programming, a requirement in the master site plan town councilors approved in December.
Jackson’s Ecosystem Stewardship Administrator Tanya Anderson said the exact details are being ironed out during a summer partnership with Leadership Jackson Hole.
“It could include things like trash cleanups or removal of things in the meadows that aren’t supposed to be there,” Anderson said.
That could look like organized efforts to remove invasive species and replace them with native ones. Educational programming like a birding day or a lesson about native plants in the Tetons are also options.
Anderson anticipates local nonprofit and environmental groups will participate and provide outlets for the public to get involved.
In a March workshop, councilors discussed hiring an ecologist to study how human use changes the open space.
Research may look at how humans change the way the park sounds, vegetative cover or if social trails are formed, Anderson added.
“This isn’t the end all be all,” Anderson said. “Things are adaptive and will change as we move closer to starting an official ambassador program and monitoring program.”
