Ecological Monitoring at Karns Meadow Park
| Location: | Wyoming |
|---|---|
| Posted: | Dec 2, 2025 |
| Due: | Jan 12, 2026 |
| Agency: | Town of Jackson |
| Type of Government: | State & Local |
| Category: |
|
| Publication URL: | To access bid details, please log in. |
| Bid Title: |
Ecological Monitoring at Karns Meadow Park
|
| Category: | Bid Opportunities |
| Status: | Open |
|
Attachment Preview
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
Ecological Monitoring at Karns Meadow Park
Issued: December 2, 2025
Jackson, Wyoming
Requested By:
Town of Jackson
Due Date:
10:00 am MST January 12, 2026
Proposal Submission:
via e-mail:
clerk@jacksonwy.gov
Contact and Questions:
Tanya Anderson
Ecosystem Stewardship Administrator
tanderson@jacksonwy.gov
Deadline for Questions:
5:00 PM MST December 12, 2025
1. SUMMARY
The Town of Jackson, Wyoming seeks proposals from qualified and experienced persons, firms, or teams of
firms (“Respondents”) to submit a proposal for ecological monitoring at Karns Meadow Park. The 42-acre
parcel is scheduled to be developed into a passive park, and the Town seeks to understand the impact of
human recreation and park development on the natural resources of the parcel, with a focus on impacts on
the vegetative cover and wildlife that use the meadows. Proposals should include 1) a plan to summarize
existing and new data pertinent to the Town’s monitoring goals into a report that can be updated annually,
2) a proposal for additional studies to monitor the impact of development and recreational use on vegetation
and wildlife, including impacts on overwintering wildlife and nesting songbird success, seasonal visitation
counts, changes in the audio-scape, changes in vegetative cover, and changes in the prevalence of invasive
species, and 3) the development of ecological thresholds related to the data collected in these studies that
will inform an adaptive management plan.
The current project timeline will allow for a full year of observation prior to the major construction activity.
Teton County/Town of Jackson Parks and Recreation intends to conduct a phased construction of the park
plan, beginning in 2027 and concluding in 2028 or 2029. The first phase will occur on the western and
northern sections of the park and will include the parking lot, shelter, picnic area, pedestrian trail, and the
pedestrian bridge to West Hansen. Subsequent phases will include the improved sidewalk along Snow King
Avenue and the southern pedestrian bridge across Flat Creek.
The Town has budgeted up to $9,000 in Fiscal Year 2026 for small tools, which could include the purchase
of monitoring tools such as game cameras and decibel meters that can be installed permanently at the park
and may remain in place after the period of ecological monitoring is complete.
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2. BACKGROUND
The Town of Jackson is a community in Northwest Wyoming with just over 10,000 residents. It is the sole
municipality within Teton County, Wyoming, whose population, including the Town of Jackson, is just over
23,000 residents. Karns Meadow is an undeveloped, centrally located piece of land (roughly 42 acres) that
consists of seven tracts that were sold to the Town of Jackson (Tract 1-6) and the Jackson Hole Land Trust
(Tract 8), between 2003 and 2008 by the Karns family with the intention for Karns Meadow to be a “Natural
Park” providing limited park amenities that would enhance public access while preserving the natural
resources of the property. Conservation easements were recorded against all tracts to protect the property
in perpetuity and limit the uses beyond the base Public/Semi-Public and Park & Open Space zoning.
In 2022, the Town Council identified the Karns Meadow Master Plan as a priority project and directed staff
to move forward with a rezone, Environmental Analysis, and Conditional Use Permit (CUP), which were all
completed and approved. The final approval of the Master Plan, which occurred on December 16, 2024, and
was done through the CUP, approved a parking lot along Karns Meadow Drive, a public restroom, a picnic
shelter, and an eight-foot-wide unpaved loop natural trail. Operationally, the park will be open year-round
to users such as walkers and nordic skiers. Dogs and bikes are prohibited at all times, with the exception of
mobility-assisted devices and kid-sized bikes for children ages 8 and under who are accompanied by an adult.
During the summer the entire park will be open to the public, but during the winter only designated trail
sections will be available for use and all other areas of the park will be closed consistent with the United
States Forest Service winter closure (December 31st through April 30th). During the winter, a small loop near
the parking lot will be groomed for walking/nordic skiing along with non-groomed/non-plowed trail sections
along the north and east sides of the park. The non-groomed/non-plowed trail sections along the north and
east sides of the park will allow for individuals who want to break trail on foot, snowshoe or skis. These areas
will be marked with temporary/removable poles to ensure users do not wander into other areas of the park
that are closed due to the winter closure. Below is a site plan showing the various improvements approved
in the Master Plan.
Karns Meadow is located in a narrow section between East Gros Ventre Butte and United States Forest
Service land south of Town and provides one of the shortest and most sheltered routes through the Town
for wildlife. Flat Creek runs through Karns Meadow from the northeast corner to the southwest corner and
provides habitat for fish, waterfowl, songbirds, amphibians, and mammals. Within Karns Meadow on the
west side of Flat Creek, there is a public well for the Town of Jackson, a ground-mounted solar panel array to
power the well, and a small parking area. It is also a designated landing site for paragliders. On the east side
of Flat Creek, there are artificial wetlands that provide stormwater treatment. There are currently no
recreational trails or amenities; though people are allowed to fish and walk through the property,
recreational use is minimal. Activation of the park is likely to increase use of the parcel, and may have
undesired impacts on plants, wildlife, and water quality. The Town of Jackson is interested in hiring an
ecologist to study the impact of park activation on the ecological values of the parcel.
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3. SCOPE OF WORK
The Town of Jackson seeks proposals from experienced persons, firms, or teams with expertise in the field
of ecology that address the following elements:
a) Prepare a summary of available data into a report that can be updated annually. The Town of
Jackson is interested in hiring an ecologist or team of ecologists to summarize existing and new
data on the ecological health of Karns Meadow Park pertinent to the Town’s monitoring goals and
create a replicable report that can be updated annually. The Environmental Analysis conducted as a
part of the Conditional Use Permit process provides an overview of several past studies. The
following is a list of current and past ecological studies that could be used to create this report.
Table 1: Current or Ongoing monitoring at Karns Meadow
Type of monitoring
Frequency
Macroinvertebrates
Annually in September
Suspended Sediment Concentration, turbidity 4 times per year
(upstream & downstream of Karns)
Physical substrate (cobble size, dimensions, Annually in September
embeddedness)
Field water chemistry (dissolved oxygen, pH, Annually in September
specific conductance, temperature, turbidity)
Organization
Teton Conservation
District (TCD)
TCD
TCD
TCD
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Water Temperature
Continuous 1-hour intervals, TCD
summer only
Water chemistry: minerals (basic
Annually in September
TCD
cations/anions, hardness, alkalinity, ammonia,
nitrate, orthophosphate, turbidity)
Microplastic sampling
Current, not ongoing
Central Wyoming College
Park Inspection logs (trash and camping
impacts, with some notes on wildlife and
Monthly in summer
Parks & Recreation
noxious weeds)
Ungulate data (1 moose, currently)
Relevant only if collared WY Game and Fish
animals use Karns
Department (WGFD)
Wildlife Vehicle Collision Report
Annual
Jackson Hole Wildlife
Foundation (JHWF) and
WGFD
Christmas Bird Count
Annually in December
Citizen science data;
Jackson Hole Bird and
Nature Club
Moose Day
Annually in February
Citizen science data; JHWF
Nature Mapping with iNaturalist
Ongoing
Citizen science data; JHWF
Park Visitation Counts
Winter 2024/25, with
intention to repeat
Parks and Recreation &
Friends of Pathways
Table 2: Previous studies and reports that include data collected at Karns
Type of monitoring
Year
Study of biota assessing feasibility of trout habitat-related projects
1996
Flat Creek Water Quality Assessment
1998
Snake River Cutthroat Trout Estimates
2011
Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship in Jackson Hole
2012
Mule Deer Movement and Habitat Use Patterns in Relation to Roadways in 2013
Northwest Wyoming
Karns Meadow Stormwater Treatment Wetland Performance Evaluation
2013
Detailed Hydraulic Analysis Flat Creek Rock Treatment Structures
2014
b) Conduct ecological monitoring before, during, and after construction of Karns Meadow Park. The
Town of Jackson is interested in hiring an ecologist to monitor the impact of development and
increased recreation on the ecological health of Karns Meadow. In particular, the Town is interested
in monitoring plans that will assess the following:
1. The impact of development and recreation on wildlife that use the meadow.
• Species of interest include mule deer, moose, and nesting songbirds.
• The Town is particularly interested in the impact of winter recreation on
overwintering wildlife.
2. The impact of development and recreation on vegetation.
• Changes in vegetative cover, prevalence of bare ground, changes in the type and
quality of vegetation.
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• Changes in the prevalence of invasive species.
3. Changes in human use of Karns Meadow before, during, and after construction.
• Changes in seasonal visitation counts.
• Changes in the audio-scape.
• Changes in the way people use the park.
c) Identify and define ecological thresholds to inform an adaptive management plan. The Town seeks
the expertise of a qualified ecologist to help establish thresholds to inform an adaptive management
plan that could include seasonal closures of specific areas or restrictions on recreational activities.
The Town of Jackson has up to $9,000 budgeted for small scientific tools that can be used to purchase
game cameras, noise-monitoring equipment, and other devices. The Town seeks an ecologist to
recommend equipment and installation locations, and to analyze data collected using these devices.
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