February is historically Banff Mountain Film Festival month here in Jackson, the time when we get to invite all of our friends in the community to join us down at the high school to watch these amazing films together. Unfortunately, with community health and safety always in mind, we’ve once again had to make the tough choice to go digital this year for the Banff Mountain Film festival. Instead, we hope you take the opportunity to enjoy the film festival in its online format from the comfort of your own home. Additionally, we’ve taken the opportunity to partner with one of our favorite local non-profits, Wildlife Tourism for Tomorrow, who invest in helping important wildlife conservation projects.
During the month of February, we will be donating all of the proceeds Skinny Skis earns from Banff Mountain Film Festival rentals to Wildlife Tourism for Tomorrow and the Jackson Elk Project. This project provides funding to help gather data and track the Jackson Elk heard that calls the National Elk Refuge and Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem its home. Below is a brief introduction to the organization and the Elk project shared by the founder of Wildlife Tourism for Tomorrow, Taylor Phillips.
Rent the Banff Mountain Film Festival
Wildlife Tourism for Tomorrow and the Jackson Elk Project
Wildlife Tourism for Tomorrow aims to engage the tourism industry in Teton County and across the state to contribute financially to wildlife conservation projects. Currently hunters and anglers are primarily responsible for the costs associated with wildlife management and conservation. The money generated from the sale of fishing and hunting licenses and taxes levied on firearms and associated goods primarily fund The Wyoming Game and Fish Department. It’s this department that is responsible for managing and conserving our state’s wildlife.
Wildlife is the #1 driver of tourism across the state and Wildlife Tourism for Tomorrow strives to unite and engage the tourism industry to support their most important asset, the wildlife. This movement is bringing money to the table to support wildlife as we are building this important constituency.
The Jackson Elk Project is the focal project that Skinny Skis and the Banff Mountain Film Festival is supporting through their support of Wildlife Tourism for Tomorrow. The Jackson Elk Herd is one of the largest elk herds in North America. Since the Jackson Elk Herd migrates over such a large area and contains so many animals, management and conservation can be challenging. In addition, elk have been changing their seasonal movement patterns and wintering in different areas in recent years. Since the Jackson Elk Herd is so important, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, along with the National Elk Refuge, National Park Service, and U.S. Forest Service have prioritized gathering better data on elk to inform future decisions. One of the primary ways that we gather data is using GPS satellite collars, which track elk movements. These collars collect a GPS location approximately every hour and automatically drop off the elk after 3 years. Each elk GPS collar costs approximately $1,600. Elk are typically captured using a net from a helicopter, which costs approximately $750 per elk. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department strives to collar 20-50 elk annually through this project.
– Taylor Phillips, Founder of Wildlife Tourism for Tomorrow