For the past 10 or 15 years the Wyoming Game and Fish Department has had problems recruiting candidates to work in Teton County. The reason? The cost of housing.

“There are only 10 homes for sale under $1 million in town,” Doug Brinmeyer, deputy wildlife supervisor for Game and Fish. “And those prices keep going up.”

The average purchase price for a home is currently $2.74 million and the median purchase price is $1.83 million. There are very few other housing options available, Brinmeyer told the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission at its Monday meeting in Powell. Annual rent on a new three-bedroom apartment in Jackson costs more than many people make a year: Brinmeyer presented a photo of the housing section of the Jackson Hole News & Guide, showing a “reasonable” apartment with 1,158 square feet of living space listed for $3,350 per month; parking is an extra $100 monthly.

The average monthly rent in Jackson is $2,274, according to the stats from the second quarter of 2019 as reported by the State of Wyoming’s Economic Analysis Division. The average price for a two bedroom apartment in Park County, meanwhile, is $665, according to the data.

The State of Wyoming does give employees not living in department housing an allowance of $1,630 per month.

Of 16 employees at the department’s Jackson office, 11 receive the housing stipend. The employees range from office managers to administration level employees like Brinmeyer, who bought a house in the area before prices started going crazy. None make enough to adequately deal with the cost of living in the county, said Wyoming Game and Fish Department Director Brian Nesvik.

“We’ve been able to get by without addressing this difficult situation for more than 10 years,” he said. But no longer.

“We continue to be concerned about our ability to recruit the best candidates,” Nesvik said.

Teton County is a large area to cover and the office is one, if not the busiest station in the state, said Brad Hovinga, Jackson Region wildlife supervisor. “Sometimes that phone rings all day long — to the point that everyone in the office is taking calls.”

The solution to the problem may be for the department to build housing for employees on some of the 1,600 acres they own in the area, mostly in small tracts. The problem is much of the land is either a difficult commute, undeveloped or popular for public access.

Another avenue would be to try to trade land with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or another governmental agency. That might be an option, but it’s a difficult, lengthy process, said Angi Bruce, the new deputy director of the Game and Fish.

The Game and Fish Commission already leases a home in Jackson, used to house an employee and family.

The commission met with department employees at Northwest College Monday for a worksession prior to the monthly commission meeting today (Tuesday). No proposals were entertained and, while the public was invited, there was no comment period.

Following today’s (Tuesday’s) meeting at NWC’s Yellowstone Conference Building, the Game and Fish and other groups are hosting an open house at the Park County Fairgrounds from 5:30-7 p.m.

A full agenda is available online at https://wgfd.wyo.gov/About-Us/Game-and-Fish-Commission.