They'll be rounding them up and moving them out Saturday morning in Grand Teton National Park, which means you could encounter traffic delays near Moran Junction for a short while.
The drive of about 250 head of cattle is scheduled to run between 6:45 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. along Highway 26/89/191 from Moran Junction south about a mile to Elk Ranch flats, according to a release from the park. The temporary delay will allow for the safe movement of cattle from the Pinto Ranch of Buffalo Valley to the Elk Ranch pastures, which lie south of Moran Junction and the Buffalo Fork River. Park rangers will provide traffic control for the cattle drive, the release said.
Pinto Ranch wranglers will drive the herd westward from the ranch using a right of way along Highway 26/287. When the cattle reach Moran Junction, the cattle need to cross the Buffalo Fork bridge, causing a delay of 30–40 minutes while cattle clear both the bridge and a swampy area just south of the bridge, according to park officials.
To avoid the temporary road delay during the cattle drive, you can travel through the national park using the Teton Park Road between Jackson Lake Junction and Moose Junction. Park officials say every effort will be made to minimize any inconvenience to travelers who may be using Highway 26/89/191 to access Moran Junction during the early morning cattle drive on Saturday.
Grand Teton officials requested that the Pinto Ranch shift their cattle from their historic, free-range Pacific Creek grazing allotment north of Moran to the fenced Elk Ranch pastures in order to minimize potential conflicts with predators living in the Pacific Creek drainage.
In accordance with the 1950 Grand Teton National Park enabling legislation, certain historic grazing privileges were retained. Since that time, the fenced and irrigated Elk Ranch pastures have been used for cattle grazing.
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