Colter Bay Visitor Services Plan/EA Available for Public Review

Date: August 14, 2012
Contact: Public Affairs Office, 307.739.3431

The National Park Service (NPS) has released for public review a Colter Bay Visitor Services Plan/Environmental Assessment (Colter Bay Visitor Services Plan/EA). The plan/EA will be open for public review for 30 days from August 15 to September 13, 2012.

The purpose of the Colter Bay Visitor Services Plan/EA is to guide decision making for redevelopment and restoration in the vicinity of the Colter Bay Visitor Center, a primary destination on the eastshore of Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park. It has become increasingly difficult to sustainably operate and maintain the visitor center due to its age, condition, and numerous critical system deficiencies. The NPS is also considering changes for nearby parking and vehicular and pedestrian circulation. Proposed changes would mitigate safety concerns, protect natural and cultural resources and improve visitors' experience of the area.

Prepared in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Colter Bay Visitor Services Plan/EA examines three action alternatives; a fourth "no-action" alternative describes the continuation of existing conditions. Actions proposed in Alternative B (the NPS preferred alternative) include replacement of the existing visitor center with a smaller visitor contact station at a nearby location, changes to vehicular and pedestrian circulation, reduction of passenger vehicle parking spaces, and increase in the number of oversized parking spaces. The proposed actions in Alternative C would involve replacement of the existing visitor center with a new, smaller visitor center at a nearby location, substantial change to vehicular and pedestrian circulation, reduction of passenger vehicle parking spaces, and increase in the number of oversized spaces. The facilities proposed in Alternatives B and C would not accommodate the Vernon Collection; this would be addressed in a future planning process. Actions proposed in Alternative D include replacement of the Colter Bay Visitor Center with a new, larger visitor center in the same location, new exhibits and storage area for the Vernon Collection, minor changes to the vehicular and pedestrian circulation, and a small reduction in passenger vehicle parking spaces. The number of oversized parking would not change.

Until recently, the David T. Vernon Collection of American Indian Art was stored and exhibited at the Colter Bay Visitor Center. Laurance Rockefeller gifted this collection to the NPS in 1976, with the condition that it remain in Grand Teton National Park. Because the existing visitor center does not meet NPS museum standards, and therefore the collection was at risk, it was moved to the NPS Western Archeological and Conservation Center (WACC) in Tucson, Arizona for treatment and temporary storage. The collection will remain at WACC until a storage and exhibit facility that meets NPS museum standards is available at Grand Teton. The Colter Bay Visitor Services Plan/EA is a prerequisite to a subsequent planning effort that Grand Teton will undertake in the next 3 to 5 years to address a new facility that can suitably house the Vernon Collection and accommodate museum storage and curatorial functions within the park. 

Copies of the Colter Bay Visitor Services Plan/EA are online at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/colterbay or on the park's web site at https://www.nps.gov/grte/parkmgmt/planning.htm. Hard copies are available at the Colter Bay Visitor Center, the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center in Moose, Wyoming and at the Reference Desk in the Teton County Library. There are also a limited number of copies available through the park's Planning Office by calling 307-739-3390. 

For individuals who choose to submit a comment, be advised that any responses given-including personal identifying information-could be made public at any time. While people making comments may request that their personal identifying information be withheld from public access, there is no guarantee that the NPS will be able to honor such a request.