Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve
Encyclopedia
Grand Teton National Park
Grand Teton National Park is a United States National Park located in northwestern Wyoming, U.S. The Park consists of approximately and includes the major peaks of the long Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. Only south of Yellowstone...
on the southern end of Phelps Lake
Phelps Lake (Wyoming)
Phelps Lake is located in Grand Teton National Park, in the U. S. state of Wyoming. The natural lake is located at the entrance to Death Canyon in the southern section of the park...
. The site was originally known as the JY Ranch, a dude ranch
Dude ranch
The guest ranch, also known as a dude ranch, is a type of ranch oriented towards visitors or tourism. It is considered a form of agritourism.-History:...
. Starting in 1927, John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
John Davison Rockefeller, Jr. was a major philanthropist and a pivotal member of the prominent Rockefeller family. He was the sole son among the five children of businessman and Standard Oil industrialist John D. Rockefeller and the father of the five famous Rockefeller brothers...
purchased much of the land in Jackson Hole
Jackson Hole
Jackson Hole, originally called Jackson's Hole, is a valley located in the U.S. state of Wyoming, near the western border with Idaho. The name "hole" derives from language used by early trappers or mountain men, who primarily entered the valley from the north and east and had to descend along...
for the creation of Jackson Hole National Monument
Jackson Hole National Monument
Jackson Hole National Monument was a wildlife reserve in Jackson Hole, the majority of which is now a part of Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, United States. It was created by executive order by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1943, and met with considerable opposition from Wyoming legislators....
and the expansion of Grand Teton National Park. But he retained the 3100 acres (1,254.5 ha) JY Ranch as a family retreat. Over the years the family gave most of the ranch to the national park. Laurance S. Rockefeller
Laurance Rockefeller
Laurance Spelman Rockefeller was a venture capitalist, financier, philanthropist, a major conservationist and a prominent third-generation member of the Rockefeller family. He was the fourth child of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and brother to John D...
donated the final parcel in 2001. The donation came with special preservation and maintenance restrictions, with the vision that the preserve remain a place where visitors can experience a spiritual and emotional connection to the beauty of the lake and the Teton Range
Teton Range
The Teton Range is a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains in North America. A north-south range, it is on the Wyoming side of the state's border with Idaho, just south of Yellowstone National Park. Most of the range is in Grand Teton National Park....
.
JY Ranch
The lands that formed the JY Ranch were first homesteaded in 1903 by Dave Spalding. He sold the property in 1906 to Louis Joy, who, with Struthers BurtMaxwell Struthers Burt
Maxwell Struthers Burt , was an American novelist, poet, and short-story writer.-Life:...
, converted the property to Jackson Hole's first dude ranch, abbreviating Joy's last name to "JY." The ranch was purchased by the Rockefellers' Snake River Land Company
Snake River Land Company
The Snake River Land Company was a land purchasing company established in 1927 by philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, Jr.. The company acted as a front so Rockefeller could buy land in the Jackson Hole valley in Wyoming without people knowing of his involvement or his intentions for the property,...
in 1932, becoming a family retreat.
Natural features
The LSR Preserve features several types of natural communities. SagebrushArtemisia tridentata
Artemisia tridentata is a shrub or small tree from the family Asteraceae. Some botanists treat it in the segregate genus Seriphidium, as S. tridentatum W. A. Weber, but this is not widely followed...
meadows are relatively dry and are home to a variety of wildflowers and animal species. The preserve's forests are predominantly composed of fir
Fir
Firs are a genus of 48–55 species of evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range...
, spruce
Spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...
, and lodgepole pine
Lodgepole Pine
Lodgepole Pine, Pinus contorta, also known as Shore Pine, is a common tree in western North America. Like all pines, it is evergreen.-Subspecies:...
with intermittent growth of cottonwoods and aspen
Aspen
Populus section Populus, of the Populus genus, includes the aspen trees and the white poplar Populus alba. The five typical aspens are all native to cold regions with cool summers, in the north of the Northern Hemisphere, extending south at high altitudes in the mountains. The White Poplar, by...
s. Sedge
Cyperaceae
Cyperaceae are a family of monocotyledonous graminoid flowering plants known as sedges, which superficially resemble grasses or rushes. The family is large, with some 5,500 species described in about 109 genera. These species are widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group...
s and other low plants grow in the wetlands providing food and cover for migrating birds. Eight miles (13 km) of trails provide public access to these natural communities.
LEED facilities
Before the creation of the LSR Preserve, the Rockefeller family either demolished or moved off-site the cabins and other structures associated with the JY Ranch. Their intent was to remove unnecessary artificial features from the preserve, and to develop ecologically friendly facilities required for the new use of the land. The preserve, including the 7,573 ft² (704 m²) visitor center dedicated on June 21, 2008, is the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental DesignLeadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....
(LEED) certified property in Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
and only the fifty-second Platinum rating in the LEED program. Carney Architects of Jackson, Wyoming
Jackson, Wyoming
Jackson is a town located in the Jackson Hole valley of Teton County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 8,647 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Teton County....
designed the facility with the Rocky Mountain Institute
Rocky Mountain Institute
Rocky Mountain Institute is an organization in the United States dedicated to research, publication, consulting, and lecturing in the general field of sustainability, with a special focus on profitable innovations for energy and resource efficiency. RMI was established in 1982 and has grown into a...
consulting on energy and daylighting analysis; Hershberger Design prepared the master plan and site design which includes 10 miles of interpretive hiking and ADA trails. Rockefeller Financial Services developed the property for the national park. Featuring composting toilet
Composting toilet
A composting toilet is a dry toilet that using a predominantly aerobic processing system that treats excreta, typically with no water or small volumes of flush water, via composting or managed aerobic decomposition...
s and a 10 kW photovoltaic system
Photovoltaic system
A photovoltaic system is a system which uses one or more solar panels to convert sunlight into electricity. It consists of multiple components, including the photovoltaic modules, mechanical and electrical connections and mountings and means of regulating and/or modifying the electrical...
, the facility earned all 17 LEED energy points.
External links
- JY Dude Ranch at Grand Teton National Park