Jim and Treva Dewey wonder if the stink of manure from their Teton Valley ranch will invade the housing developments – and pool parties and barbecues – that may surround their farm one day.

The Victor, Idaho, husband and wife, who have been running beef cows for nearly 50 years on their 479-acre property, are shocked by the number of houses and trailers that have popped up near their property and in all of Teton Valley in the past five years.

They live just west of town, but said they wouldn’t be surprised to see the town expand the three miles to their house, the same house Jim lived in as a child. Out the kitchen window, you can already see single-family homes that don’t look like they belong, Treva said.

“It just breaks your heart to see it broken up into little pieces,” Treva said of some of the farmland in southern Teton Valley. “But, it’s their land. They can do what they want.”

Jim, 78, and Treva, 73, run their cattle in a county full of contrasts.

With four major golf course developments either in the works or already built, the valley is a mecca for high-end developers. The golf course-centered building includes Huntsman Springs, one of the biggest developments ever proposed for Teton County.

At the same time, notable features such as the old Spud Drive-in movie theater, log cabins and farms endure along the still mostly rural roads.

The pace of change has residents’ heads spinning as development consumes more and more farmland. Incredibly, development is far from potential build out.

In the valley, there is now nearly one lot for each resident, but two-thirds of those lots have yet to be built on or even sold. With about 67 percent of county land privately owned and only about 13 percent of that land developed or about to be developed, the county could potentially expand five-fold.

In comparison, Teton County, Wyo., has only 3 percent private land with the rest locked up in forests, preserves and national parks.

The tight constriction of land in Jackson Hole and the open spaces of Teton Valley that lure American dreamers who want a home with a yard make the two counties inextricably linked.

There are about 1,400 Teton County, Idaho residents working in Jackson Hole, said Jonathan Schechter, a Jackson Hole statistician and founder of a local think tank.

Along with being situated next to Jackson Hole and all of its natural and economic values, Teton Valley has its own attractions – the Big Hole Mountains to the west and the Tetons to the east, the three small communities of Driggs, Victor and Tetonia, trout streams and Grand Targhee, a resort poised to expand as fast as the valley at its feet.

Some people, like the Dewey family, concerned with protecting valley character and wildlife, worry that the 54 percent of the valley that is held in private hands will be overrun with houses and that Teton County, Idaho, which has seen its population double every 15 years, will continue to grow at the same pace.



Population boom

The July 2005 population, recorded at 7,467, is 24.5 percent more than it was five years ago at 6,436. Teton County, Idaho, falls just behind Canyon County, Idaho, part of the Boise City-Nampa Metropolitan Area, which weighed in at 25.2 percent growth over five years.

In response to such change, the Deweys joined 57 other families who donated their land as a tax-deductible charitable gift to the Teton Regional Land Trust. The Deweys still own the land and can ranch on it, but they cannot subdivide.

“It won’t change,” Treva said of her family’s poperty. “I still walk that same ground every year and check the fences.”

Not all farmers want their land to be the same in 50 years as it was 50 years ago.

Jaydell Buxton, a fourth-generation Driggs resident, has other plans. The former potato farmer switched his farm to sod because it was more lucrative. Now, he hopes to turn some of his 1,500-acre “farm in transition” into a residential golf development because he cannot afford to be a farmer anymore.

“The face of agriculture is changing all across America,” Buxton said while sitting on a patio chair next to the fire pit outside his home. Buxton grew up in the house he now shares with his wife, Judy.

The increasingly global market, high fuel prices and a short growing season make farming in Teton Valley nearly impossible, Buxton said. “Economics won’t allow it,” he said. Luckily, he said, there is an alternative.

“You could say, our community is moving from an agricultural-based economy – in the 1970s, it was 100 percent – to a second-home and tourism-based economy,” he said.

Buxton, who was in the hole $100,000 from his farming operation last year, said the question is not if but how to develop the valley.

“You need to have quality open space,” he said. “There can be enough money coming in to have cluster developments and leave larger contiguous areas that can be open space.”



Comp plan ensures open space

In the new Teton County, Idaho, Comprehensive Plan, which is designed to guide development for the next four years, land can be subdivided if developers provide 50 percent open space, Buxton said. Some feel the open space requirement is too low, but Buxton thinks, if built correctly, developments will maintain valley character, allow people to stay in Teton Valley and give landowners the choice to do what they want with their land.

The plan, which took planning staff, county commissioners and five different subcommittees three years to finalize, says maintaining open space preserves the very reason people move to the valley: mountain views and abundant wildlife.

“I’m grateful that I live in a community that allows me to do something with my land,” said Buxton, who knows farmers who are sitting on land they can’t afford to farm and cannot sell at a fair price. “We haven’t had to move away. There’s enough economy to keep people.”

Buxton is the president of the Teton Valley Alliance, a group committed to encouraging valley business development, he said.

The group was born from discussions surrounding a controversial set of ordinances the Teton Regional Land Trust and a local advocacy group tried to pass last spring. The ordinances called for a higher percentage of open space, more animal migration corridors and other strict requirements for new developments as emergency addenda to the comprehensive plan. County commissioners rejected the emergency ordinances saying the plan does its job.

Staffers at the Valley Advocates for Responsible Development office above Guadalajara Mexican restaurant in Driggs say the pace of development seems unruly at times. Executive Director Kathy Rinaldi wishes development regulations were more stringent.

“Our Achilles’ heel is the density that the county commissioners allow is too high,” she said. Rinaldi described growth issues as “incredibly heated here in this county.”

Natural lands, open space and views will disappear if developers keep “jamming those lots in,” she said.

The comprehensive plan defines open space as tracts of land with unobstructed views. Agricultural land, ball fields, wetlands, steep hillsides and even golf courses count as open space.

Fifty percent open space may seem like a lot, Rinaldi said, but it’s all how it’s placed and where and what constitutes open space. New York City is 25 percent open space, she said.

She understands farming is not profitable in the valley, but thinks leaders have to keep in mind the values offered by tourism, wildlife migration corridors, recreation and vibrant downtowns.

In the end, she said, valley residents care about the same thing.

“Change is hard for everybody, especially when it comes at such a fast rate,” she said. “When we can sit down on common ground and discuss the things we all value — the quality of life type of stuff — then we can make some progress forward.”

Farmer Buxton said it’s the newcomers looking for a higher quality of life who often tout preserving the old way of life.

Newcomers Lauryn and Jordy Griffin don’t necessarily fit this mold. The Griffins moved from their 500-square-foot guesthouse rental on Munger Mountain road in Jackson to a brand-new 1,500-square-foot house on a half-acre in Victor last October.

Lauryn, 26, and Jordy, 30, said they wanted a house with a yard for the family they plan to have together. The husband and wife have been married just over a year and both teach in the public school system in Jackson Hole, where the median house price is nearing $1 million. Their new home has a garage, three bedrooms, two decks and two bathrooms, one that they recently painted neon green. A stone griffin guards the front door.

With teachers in Jackson getting an average 48 percent raise next year, the Griffins could possibly afford to move back to Jackson, but they’re going to stay put, they say.

“We love The Spud, the small community, the bike path and the friends we’ve made,” Lauryn said. “I like to go home and be away. It’s quiet, we’re doing our thing.”

Jordy said they moved to Teton Valley because they could afford to buy there, but are staying for the community. He said the young crowd feels more permanent than the young crowd in Jackson. There are more young couples with kids and Victor feels like “real community,” he said.

The Griffins don’t seem to mind joining the increasing number of commuters driving the 25 miles to Jackson over Teton Pass every day.

“It’s our 30 minutes alone together every day,” Lauryn said.

The Jackson Hole Almanac reports that an average of 4,100 cars per day ventured over Teton Pass in 2000. That number increased to 4,350 cars per day in 2004.

The valley is attracting more than Jackson Hole workers. One real estate agent said her clients hail from Florida, Ohio, New Jersey, California, Washington, Arizona and as far away as Antarctica and Hawaii.

“A lot of them are looking for a second home in four to five years,” said Lora Davis, sales agent with Teton Valley Realty. “Now they’re just looking for property to purchase.”

Davis started selling real estate about 18 months ago just when the market started taking off, she said.

“We have sold nearly three times the number of properties in the time period of January 2005 to Aug. 8, 2006, as were sold from January 2001 to Aug. 8, 2002,” she wrote in an e-mail. “Average sold prices have risen 58 percent overall. That is raw land, lots, homes, condos, and commercial all combined. There are certainly individual properties that have gone up more than that, but these are, of course, averages.”

Davis’ husband, a valley native, always wanted to come back home, but never imagined his wife as a successful real estate agent.

“It’s a little bit of a catch-22,” Davis said about the rate of growth in the valley. “From a business perspective it’s great, the growth ends up being a great thing. From the valley native perspective, it’s a little bit hard to see the growth but it’s going to happen, we just hope that it happens in a good way.”

Davis also said developments such as Huntsman Springs are setting a good example for other developers. Huntsman Springs officials are including a lot of open space, refuges and easements and contributing to the community.

Still in the planning stages, the 1,400-acre development may include detached townhomes, custom homes, cabins and a hotel. The development may also include an 18-hole golf course and fitness and wellness center.

Bill Reid, director of development, said he does not anticipate “having a big security gate.”

“We’re working hard to be responsible with this development,” he said. “We think that’s what people want to buy. They’re going to enjoy being associated with the wildlife preserve. They can ride their bicycle into town without going through a series of checkpoints and guard gates.”

Davis said golf course developments and smaller subdivisions invite people to enjoy life in the valley and, more importantly, give farmers an alternate way to make money from their land.

“We know a lot of the people that have been in the valley for a long time,” Davis said. “Some of them are being able to realize some good sales on their properties, and that is great as far as I’m concerned. It’s been a rough go and now they can retire comfortably, and I think that’s a great thing.”