Forest Service Approved 694 Acres of New Ski Terrain. Wyoming’s Wildlife Agency Says Reverse It.
The U.S. Forest Service approved an expansion of Grand Targhee Resort in late May 2026, adding 694 acres to the ski area’s existing 2,517-acre footprint, a 28% increase. On July 13, Wyoming Game and Fish Director Angi Bruce wrote to Caribou-Targhee National Forest with a blunt demand.
“The only effective remedy to the Department’s Objection Points is to avoid expansion and the subsequent development into South Bowl.”
Angi Bruce, Director, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, July 13, 2026
The expansion covers two zones: Mono Trees at 459 acres and South Bowl at 235 acres. The Forest Service already trimmed both areas in response to environmental concerns. Caribou-Targhee Supervisor Kim Pierson cut Mono Trees by 24% and South Bowl by 12%, citing the need “to reduce the likelihood of human and bighorn sheep interactions.” Wyoming wildlife managers say that reduction is not enough.
The Teton Bighorn Herd Has No Buffer for Additional Pressure
The Teton Range bighorn sheep herd is small and, notably, disease-free, a condition that makes it a core conservation priority in Wyoming. Bighorn sheep regularly travel through South Bowl on their way to a mineral lick in Teton Canyon below. That migration path runs directly through the proposed expansion zone.
The Forest Service’s own draft decision acknowledges the risk. Caribou-Targhee officials wrote that habitat loss in South Bowl and Teton Canyon “has the potential to harm viability of the Teton Range Herd.” Wyoming Game and Fish wildlife biologist Aly Courtemanch spent years studying backcountry skiing impacts on this specific herd before the agency filed its objection.
The expansion area also contains whitebark pine, a species federally listed as threatened. Grand Targhee’s plans have drawn opposition since they were first submitted nearly six years ago, in part because the bighorn sheep conflict was documented from the start.
The Decision Still Has One More Step
The Caribou-Targhee draft decision is still in the objection review period. Wyoming Game and Fish’s letter is a formal objection that the Forest Service must address before issuing a final record of decision. That review process gives the public a narrow but real window to add pressure.
What You Can Do Now
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Submit a formal comment to Caribou-Targhee National Forest. Contact the forest supervisor’s office directly at [email protected] and state that the South Bowl expansion should be removed from the final decision. Reference the agency’s own finding that habitat loss threatens herd viability.
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Call your Wyoming or Idaho federal representatives. Both states share the Teton ecosystem. Reach the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask your senator or representative to request that the Forest Service issue a final decision that fully protects the bighorn sheep migration corridor in South Bowl.
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Contact the Wyoming Game and Fish Department at (307) 777-4600 to express support for Director Bruce’s objection. Agency comment records that show public backing can strengthen a formal objection in the review process.
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Find the official objection docket for Grand Targhee’s expansion at the Caribou-Targhee National Forest project page and track whether the Forest Service responds to Wyoming’s objection before issuing a final ruling.
Sources
Idaho Capital Sun: Wyoming Game and Fish urges reversal of Grand Targhee expansion approval U.S. Forest Service: Caribou-Targhee National Forest Grand Targhee Resort Project Page WyoFile: Grand Targhee expansion and bighorn sheep habitat concerns U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Whitebark Pine Threatened Species Listing