It's warming up in Jackson

Hello everyone,

It's been a while since I last wrote a blog post. Over the past two weeks, I have been busy working on a Sage-grouse document. The Fish and Wildlife Service has asked the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management to compile an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Sage-grouse - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0M8pZnNlnI. At the unit level, Bridger-Teton National Forest, Thunderbasin National Grassland, and Medicine Bow National Forest compiled an Analysis of the Management Situation (AMS) to relay information to complete the EIS. In its entirety, the AMS is about 260 pages with sections from different divisions of the land units such as forestry, recreation, water, wildlife, etc. My role in the project was to bring all the sections together and edit the document. It is interesting to see the coordination between different agencies and land units to get the document done. There were lots of conference calls and emails being sent back and forth. We are nearly done with the document, which I am very excited about!

Enough about Sage-grouse, I have also been helping out with Teton 10 - http://www.teton10.org/. Teton 10 is a Jackson Hole initiative to get kids more active. Teton 10 acts as a platform for kids to find organizations that are holding programs in the Teton area. Teton 10 keeps track of all the programs the kids do and recognizes the kids for their involvement. There are 10 categories of programs, hence Teton 10, that kids can participate in. When all 10 categories are completed, kids are eligible to apply for scholarships when they are in high school. I have created a Facebook page for Teton 10 - http://www.facebook.com/#!/tetonten. I would appreciate if you all liked it if you have a Facebook profile!

Two Saturdays ago, I represented Teton 10 at the Jackson Eco-Fair. Approximately 60 people took brochures to learn more about Teton 10. There were also about 6 people that left their contact information because they were interested in collaborating with Teton 10. There were many positive things said about Teton 10. I also helped Teddi, the Teton 10 program coordinator, at the Party for Trails on Wednesday. The party was organized by Friends of Pathways to recognize and celebrate the opportunities on our pathways and trails. At the party, we saw mostly people that are already very involved in the community. It was great to make new contacts that are interested in Teton 10.

For the next few weeks, I'm going to concentrate my work on Teton 10 and other community programs.  In less than a month, I will go to Guard School to get my Red Card for wildland firefighting, so my responsibilities will change a little bit.

Outside of work, I have been trying to get more involved in the community. I volunteered at a Cinco de Mayo event for the Latino Resource Center two weekends ago. I have looked into volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, so hopefully I will help with a build soon. It's warming up in Jackson. The beautiful weather has allowed me to bike to work. I hope to get out to Grand Teton and Yellowstone before it gets too busy in Jackson. Stay tuned as I update you more about my internship!

Cheers,
Felipe