Winter nwsltr06_6 - Grand Teton National Park Foundation

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Jackson Hole Wolves Regaining Ground The gray wolf is rapidly recolonizing previously embraced territory in and around Jackson Hole. Arriving as dispersers from the 1995- 1996 Yellowstone National Park reintroduction program, wolves began plying the terrain of Grand Teton National Park in 1997, homing in on a denning area and producing the valley’s first wolf litter in more than 70 years in 1999. Aptly named the Teton Pack, this group of wolves, their offspring, and probably a few new members from packs unknown, dominated this new home for seven years, tending new litters each year except one. But during the winter of 2005-2006, after the Teton Pack alpha male died, other wolves sensed the stressed social structure of the pack and moved in. The newly named Buffalo Pack of about 11 wolves took over the den site and much of the Teton Pack’s range, leaving them to fragment and wander pupless during the breeding season. Meanwhile, two new packs were filling other voids in the valley. In the Pacific Creek drainage, a pack with the same name was firmly planted at a den site north of the Buffalo Pack’s domain, and the new Sage Pack was hidden away in a small corner of the Snake River plain to the south. Later in the year, yet another new pack with pups - the Huckleberry Pack - was discovered in the northern-most reaches of Jackson Hole, near the far end of Jackson Lake. Combined with two wolf packs in the valley’s fringes, one in the upper Gros Ventre drainage and another in the Victor/Driggs vicinity, and the Flat Creek Pack which denned on the National Elk Refuge in 2005, a total of eight Photo courtesy of Diana Stratton wolf packs were believed to use parts of the valley in 2006. Five of these (Huckleberry, Pacific, Buffalo, Sage, Gros Ventre) produced pups. One pack (Teton) did not, and the status of two packs (Victor/Driggs and Flat Creek) remains unknown, because without radio-collared wolves in these packs we could not locate dens or follow their movements closely. The return of wolves to Jackson Hole has restored predator prey systems in the valley that evolved over thousands of years. Elk and moose are a little more attentive to their surroundings, and wolves test groups and individuals to find the weak, easier targets. The stronger animals survive, passing on these traits to successive generations. Numbers of coyotes in the valley are probably decreasing, as they compete with wolves for space, while red fox, which compete with coyotes but not wolves, may be on the rise. Animals particularly vulnerable to coyote predation, like pronghorn fawns, should benefit too, as coyote numbers subside. In short, long lost ecological balances are returning. But livestock losses from wolves are also returning as some longtime valley residents can recall from the past century. The adaptations that equip these large canines to prey on elk, bison, and moose make the occasional killing of cows, sheep, and even horses easy Rough locations of Jackson Hole wolf packs in 2006. work. So far, wolf control actions taken in response to livestock conflicts account for the highest percentage of wolf deaths in the ecosystem, followed by natural causes, unknown circumstances, roadkills and poaching. Clearly, the integration of wolves into our current socio-economic structure has been fraught with many emotions and valid perspectives from all angles. Sporting reproductive rates much higher than most similar-sized carnivores, wolves are naturally equipped to survive large annual losses. Whether or not wolves retain ground recently gained in Jackson Hole over the long run will likely be determined by socio-political factors—our willingness to accommodate wolves—rather than ecological ones. Steve Cain, Senior Park Biologist, Grand Teton National Park and Mike Jimenez, Wolf Recovery Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
New Members Join Foundation Board The Grand Teton National Park Foundation is pleased to welcome four new Board members. Chuck Koob is a partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York where he serves as co-head of the firm’s litigation department. Chuck specializes in competition, trade regulation and antitrust law. Chuck is a trustee of the Natural Resources Defense Council, Chairman of the Stanford Law School’s Board of Visitors and Chair of the Yellowstone Appreciated Stock Makes an Excellent Gift Giving gifts of appreciated stock to the Grand Teton National Park Foundation is an easy and tax-wise way of supporting park projects and programs. Appreciated stock is an excellent choice for funding charitable gifts because it can offer significant tax benefits for the donor without impacting cash flow. In fact, to offset a capital gain event during the tax year, many donors gift shares of stock or mutual funds to counter an anticipated capital gain tax. Here’s an example of how a gift of stock can work: Bob and Jane have held a company’s stock for twenty years. It has appreciated Park Foundation. He and his wife Pam have a home north of the airport which they visit frequently. They have two adult sons. Philip and Liliana Treick live in Jackson, Wyoming. Philip is a Wyoming native who has his own investment firm. Prior to returning to Wyoming, he worked for Raymond James Financial in Florida and Transamerica Investment Service in San Francisco. Liliana is a native of Colombia who met Philip at college in greatly during that time, so much so that their cost basis is just 10 percent of the current value. Typically, selling an appreciated stock triggers a tax on the realized gain—the difference between what you paid to purchase the stock and its current value. When you make a gift of appreciated stock directly to your favorite charity and the charity sells the stock, the taxable event and the fees are avoided because the charity is tax-exempt. Plus the donor can Florida. She worked in the banking business in Florida before joining Levi Strauss in San Francisco. Currently, Liliana manages Philip’s investment business and competes in triathlons. They have two children. James Trosper lives in Fort Washakie, Wyoming and is Director of the Indian Child Welfare Legal Department on the Wind River Indian Reservation. In 2002, he was appointed by Governor Dave Freudenthal for a five-year term as trustee on the University of Wyoming board. James is an Eastern Shoshone Sun Dance leader and the great-great grandson of Chief Washakie. take a sizeable charitable deduction on his/her taxes—a deduction that can be used to offset other taxable events. It’s truly a win-win situation for everyone. Email us at director@gtnpf.org or call (307) 732-0629 if you would like to make a gift of appreciated stock. We will get you the information you need and guide you through the process. Option X: Keeping the Proceeds Option Y: Making a Charitable Gift Stock Value $50,000 Stock Value $50,000 Cost Basis $5,000 Cost Basis Does not matter Capital Gain $45,000 Capital Gain Avoided Capital Gains Tax (20%) $9,000 Capital Gains Tax $0 Brokerage Fee (est.) $500 Brokerage Fee (est.) $0 Value of Sale $40,500 Value of Gift and $50,000 Charitable Deduction
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Page 11 and 12: Mr. & Mrs. Richard Vaughan Mr. & Mr

Winter nwsltr06_6 - Grand Teton National Park Foundation

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