How Can Tourism Dollars Protect the Places We Love?

For the fourth year in a row, the JHTTB used tourism dollars to substantially fund boots-on-the-ground stewardship efforts in and around Jackson Hole. And the results of these programs are backing up the JHTTB’s belief that tourism dollars can protect our unqiue landscapes.

Why Ambassador Programs?

Why spend tourism revenue on trail crews, backcountry shuttle programs, and campfire safety? The answer lies in the growing need to balance visitation with preservation.

Since launching in 2021, the Friends of Bridger-Teton Ambassadors for Responsible Recreation Program, funded by the Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board, has extinguished over 800 abandoned campfires and issued more than 350 food storage and camping violations. Also facilitated through lodging tax dollars, the Teton Backcountry Alliance has shuttled 4,800 skiers safely up Teton Pass and Jackson Hole Nordic Alliance has increased responible use on nordic trails. These are the quiet wins that don’t always make headlines but matter deeply to the local ecosystem and community.

Measureable Results

After five years of individually supporting local ambassador programs and tracking noteworthy results, the JHTTB made a strategic decision to dedicate ambassador service specific funding for the first time in their Fiscal Year 2026 budget. The addition of a new line item in the organization’s budget serves as recognition that face-to-face interactions and boots-on-the-ground service are some of the most impactful ways to modify visitor behavior.

On June 12, 2025, the Board allocated $754,226 to six ambassador programs:

• Friends of Bridger-Teton: $520,000
• Teton Backcountry Alliance: $73,617
• Friends of Pathways: $70,334
• Jackson Hole Nordic Alliance: $43,000
• Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center: $35,875
• Teton Valley Trails & Pathways: $11,400

The three-quarters of a million dollars promises a huge return on investment. Friends of Pathways, Teton Valley Trails & Pathways, and Jackson Hole Nordic Alliance anticipate more responsible and safe trail use year-round from ambassadors dedicated to educating users at trailheads. Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center and Teton Backcountry Alliance will place ambassadors at critical areas, including a skier shuttle service for Teton Pass to help mitigate parking congestion at highly used backcountry access points. And Friends of Bridger-Teton’s most important statistic is that they’ve maintained a record of zero catastrophic human-caused wildfires in ambassador-patrolled areas.

These results are entirely funded by visitors. The JHTTB used visitor-paid lodging tax to support these ambassador services projects, proving that an intentional collection of public funds from visitors can positively impact a place.

Management IS Marketing

In Jackson, funding for ambassador programs doesn’t replace destination marketing – it strengthens it. The Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board continues to lead with world-class marketing campaigns that draw global attention, but it also recognizes that without efforts to preserve the very place being promoted, there may one day be nothing left to market. Winter services that ensure safe trail and backcountry access are essential to supporting Jackson as a premier winter destination. Likewise, protecting wildlife from human interference and safeguarding ecosystems from wildfire are critical – not just for the tourism industry, but for the community’s long-term well-being.

Lessons Learned

While the measureable results from ambassador programs are noticeably supporting the landscape and the community, the allocation from the JHTTB came with its own challenges.

Local organizations funded by the lodging tax grew to rely on JHTTB funding, but public funds are never guaranteed. After spending down reserves for five years, the JHTTB had a noticeable reduction in available funds for fiscal year 2026, and previously-funded organizations felt the shortfall. At the same time, many of the same organizations faced drastic funding cuts from the government. Combined, both reductions felt like the perfect storm, forcing some to decrease their scopes of work.

In the end, the JHTTB was able to reallocate some of their budget to fund all requests at 70% of their ask or higher. The decision, however, came after public scrutinity on how to allocate lodging tax funds, which distracted from the results of the programs and pinned partners against each other. The lesson learned? Lodging tax funding must come with clear guidelines, and funded organizations must seek sustainable funding sources outside of public funding.

A Model for the Future

Could this model be replicated elsewhere? Jackson Hole’s ambassador funding offers a promising example of how tourism can actively support the stewardship of public lands.

Rather than viewing tourism and conservation as opposing forces, Jackson Hole is asking: What if one could serve the other? With continued support from the lodging tax and growing partnerships with local nonprofits, Jackson Hole is laying the groundwork for a destination where visitors become stewards—and where the act of exploring the Tetons helps ensure they’ll be here for generations to come.

Through strategic allocation of Teton County’s lodging tax funds, we steward Jackson Hole toward a sustainable destination, where our leadership, marketing, management, and community engagement ensure the vitality of our natural and human ecosystems.