Jackson Hole Mayor Pete Muldoon is asking visitors to be patient in returning to his town/Jackson Hole Chamber
Seated in Jackson Hole, just south of the main entrance to Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, the town of Jackson is another gateway community struggling with the impact of curtailed tourism, with business owners wondering how long they can survive.
In addition to early closings of Jackson Hole’s ski resorts in mid-March due to coronavirus, the town is feeling the blow of the cancellation of two major March events: The 44th annual World Championship Snowmobile Hill Climb at the Snow King Mountain Resort, which draws nearly 15,000 guests, and the Jackson Hole Rendezvous Spring Festival at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. With Grateful Dead founding rhythm guitarist Bob Weir and the Wolf Brothers headlining the festival, the event was estimated to draw another 20,000 visitors.
Despite those setbacks, Justin Walters, lead visitor services agent at the Jackson Chamber of Commerce, says the community is better off than most.
“April is normally a shoulder season for Jackson, so shutdowns haven’t hit us like some communities. We definitely lost some business with the event cancellations, which was unfortunate, but other than that, going into April, which is normally a downtime anyway, this is pretty typical," he said. "Not to say businesses aren’t hurting because they certainly are.”
Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks are the main summer attractions for this mountain town on Wyoming's western border, though exactly when they'll be ready to greet tourists is up in the air.
"At this time, about 55 seasonal employees will be 'onboarded' prior to May 24 that work mission-essential duties (e.g. first responders, maintenance, etc.)," said Grand Teton spokesperson Denise German.
Signal Mountain Lodge overlooking Jackson Lake in Grand Teton is scheduled to open June 5, while Xanterra Parks & Resorts hopes to be able to open its Yellowstone lodges June 15, though those dates aren't set in stone.
The Jackson Chamber serves nearly 1,000 members, which, according to Walters, is a large membership number for a small community. (Jackson has a population of 10,529 residents, per 2016 data.) Walters estimates that 95 percent of chamber members have small family-owned businesses, including some 25 wildlife tour companies operating in Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks that take reservations months in advance.
He said the chamber has been very proactive in reaching out to businesses, sharing information from weekly online town and county meetings, and assisting members with financial resources and SBA loan applications. He says the meetings are drawing a huge number of participants; some 3,000 people joined the call last week. “They’re covering topics about how to be patient and what we are looking at moving forward. People are really interested in what’s going on,” he said.
The chamber has assembled an Economic Recovery Task Force to, as described on the chamber’s website, “support business, provide resources and plan for better opportunities in order to shorten the community’s recovery time and to mitigate losses.”
Additionally, the chamber’s website provides a comprehensive clearinghouse of information and helpful links, including back-to-business checklists, federal and state financial support options, and other general resources for businesses and employees as well as resources shared by other chamber members.
There’s also a personal video message from Stetson-wearing Mayor Pete Muldoon encouraging visitors to stay at home. With a light snow falling and ski runs visible on the mountain behind him, the mayor provided reassurance. “Jackson Hole will always be here. Please hang your hat at home and give our small mountain town a chance to recover from the Covid 19 pandemic.”
Teton County has had one coronavirus death to date.
That said, stay-at-home restrictions in Wyoming are expiring on Thursday. Gov. Mark Gordon has announced that stringent measures will be eased in the coming weeks. The Wyoming Health Office will release modified statewide health orders through May 15, with additional details being released in the weeks ahead.
“The governor just spoke yesterday [April 23] and said May 15ish looks like a good ‘get back to normalcy date,’ our new normalcy,” Walters said. “It’s not going to be the same for a while, if ever again. But we’re letting businesses know that we’re here to help, that we’ll get through this. We’re going to continue to look to the future and be prepared for whenever this does let up.”
In the meantime, the community of Jackson anxiously awaits the reopening of Grand Teton and Yellowstone, knowing that the success of many businesses depends not only on the timetable but on the extent of what park facilities will be open and how extensively they will be staffed.
“It’s hard to say. Will we have another five million visitations this year? Probably not,” Walters conceded. “But I guarantee you once the rules allow people to start traveling again, people will come here. We have nine million acres of national forest that’s wide open, so I’ve been kind of messaging that. If you do want to come, just be prepared. It won’t be a typical visit.”
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