The Yellowstone Business Partnership (YBP) is a nonprofit business organization with over 250 members in the 25 Idaho, Montana and Wyoming counties that surround Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. The Partnership recently completed the planning/design phase for a voluntary rating system for sustainable development in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem that is modeled after the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. This new regional rating system includes and goes beyond the application of LEED green building standards to address the nationally significant natural and cultural values of the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. This certification system – once proven in concept through various pilot demonstrations – will reward leadership in how to develop our regional landscapes with greater sensitivity and with a long-term view.

A Collaborative Approach

To date over 140 volunteers from the public and private sectors have attended workshops and/or served on design teams to ensure the rating system and future certified projects benefit from a wide diversity of regional knowledge and experience. Version 1.0 of the Greater Yellowstone Framework is now open for public review and comment here. The summary scorecard for the GY-Framework lists seven prerequisites and 57 credits that cover categories such as Land Use and Conservation, Biodiversity, Recreation Resources, and Public Service and Infrastructure.

Objectives of the Pilot

Just as LEED has increased industry interest and capacity for building “green” in this country, the GY-Framework holds great promise for inspiring more sustainable development in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem, especially on private lands. To move forward, the Framework needs to be vetted across a wider audience and proved in concept with developers and local governments. Over the next three years, YBP and a variety of pilot sponsors will demonstrate how each prerequisite and credit can be practically achieved on the ground.

Benefits to Pilot Participants

• Greater flexibility and personal assistance provided during the pilot stage; “pre-review” opportunity to assist through local permitting processes
• Peer and community recognition of accomplishments; speaking opportunities
• Favorable publicity based on performance; template for periodic press releases
• Mentoring and coaching from regional professionals
• Encouragement and learning from peer projects throughout pilot period
• Use of economic analysis tools to measure cost and communicate other benefits
• Awareness of incentives as they become available; early opportunity to benefit from anticipated grants, fee reductions and tax credits
• Sense of contributing to a regionally-relevant program with long-term sustainability goals.

Expectations from Pilot Participants

• Become an official member of the Yellowstone Business Partnership; acknowledge YBP and the GY Framework through use of the logo in project signage and literature
• Participate in the orientation session, initial training course, regular meetings and conference calls
• Communicate what worked and didn’t work at meaningful stages in the project; disclose costs, time burdens and obstacles as well as positive aspects of system implementation
• Pay attention to time and effort in training personnel to participate – what was the learning curve?
• Be willing to host tours and participate in case study presentations as invited
• Contribute to the list of proven strategies and technologies to achieve each credit; demonstrate new innovations and help others learn from your experiences
• Cooperate with independent evaluators who will be testing and adapting the rating system
• Comply fully with the requested reporting system over the pilot period; make a final presentation to a Sustainable Development Summit that will conclude the pilot phase early in 2010.

Participant Selection Criteria

Pilot applicants were selected to participate in the Greater Yellowstone Framework pilot program based upon the following criteria:

• Prerequisites can be met and a minimum number of credit points can be earned for certification
• Completeness of information provided in the application, including ability to pay fees
• Potential to contribute to the variety of projects tested during the pilot program
• Opportunities to raise public awareness of the GY-Framework and its goals.
• Any additional commitments to sustainability made by the owner/project team in the application

• Beartooth Nature Center, Red Lodge, Montana
• Dornix Park, Big Timber, Montana
• Grand Targhee Resort, Alta, Wyoming
• Harriman State Park, Island Park, Idaho
• Livingston High School, Livingston, Montana
• Mountain Legends Ranch, Driggs, Idaho
• Mountainside Village, Victor, Idaho
• Pine Glades Homes, Jackson, Wyoming
• Red Lodge High School, Red Lodge, Montana
• Story Mill Neighborhood, Bozeman, Montana
• Teton Meadows Ranch, Jackson Hole, Wyoming