About us

  • Our Mission

    Jackson Hole Bear Solutions bridges the gap that currently exists in both education of the public and in reducing human-bear conflict in Teton County, WY, by providing the tools and resources necessary for conflict prevention. We reduce barriers to access for bear-resistant trash cans through financial aid, acquisition, and distribution of the cans, as well as other tactics for securing attractants and avoiding conflict.

    Ultimately, we strive to keep the public safe, prevent property damage, and avoid the destruction of bears.

  • Guillermo Esteves

    our Vision

    We envision Teton County, WY, as a Bear Smart community, securing the majority of wildlife attractants at residences and businesses throughout the county and greatly reducing human-bear conflict. We believe that Jackson should be a national epicenter for conflict prevention education and a coexistence model for other communities.

    Teton County will be a global leader of stewardship, protecting valuable and endangered species, and with residents living alongside a thriving natural ecosystem while minimizing negative human impacts.

Jackson Hole Bear solutions is a program Operated through the nonprofit

Wyoming Wildlife advocates

WYOMING WILDLIFE ADVOCATES INFORMS, EDUCATES AND EMPOWERS COMMUNITIES TO PRESERVE OUR WILD LEGACY, PROTECT OUR SHARED WILDLIFE AND MODERNIZE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT ACROSS THE STATE.

Wyoming Wildlife Advocates is a 501(c)(3) organization.

WWA Website

Team

  • Jim Laybourn

    Program Director

    A lifelong resident of Wyoming, Jim credits his adventurous parents with his outdoor lifestyle and appreciation of Wyoming’s wildlife. Jim’s most important education was received on his family’s weekend pilgrimages to Wyoming’s great outdoors. No matter the weather, the wilderness was explored; hiking, climbing, biking, canoeing, hunting, skiing and observing our fantastic wildlife.

    Living the last twenty years in Jackson, Buffalo Valley, and on Togwotee Pass; Jim has worked as a home builder, wildlife guide, and filmmaker. Jim has an extraordinary passion for grizzly bears. First drawn to film-making after a surprise weekend encounter with Grizzly 399 years ago, this encounter left Jim inspired to take up videography spending thousands of hours in the field observing the secretive nature of grizzly bears.

    Jim is intent on replacing the fear and misunderstanding of the grizzly as a ferocious predator with that of an extremely intelligent, charismatic being. Jim believes that a robust predator population may be Wyoming’s best chance to limit the spread of CWD, and as a lifelong hunter, respects predators rather than fears them.

  • Savannah Rose Burgess

    Program Ambassador and Co-Founder

    Savannah is a full-time freelance wildlife photographer and camera trap technician with a passion for the Earth’s biodiversity and conservation efforts. She is specifically drawn to North America’s apex predators and strives to capture portraits of the most evocative and elusive creatures. She has lived in Jackson Hole for seven years now and is grateful for the opportunity to share with you the beautiful stories of these animals’ lives.

    While closely following grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Savannah was moved by the destruction of six grizzly bears in 2021 in Teton County, lured into conflict with humans by unsecured trash and attractants. This fueled her to gather over 75,000 petition signatures from concerned citizens and to take the first steps in starting Jackson Hole Bear Solutions.