Ignoring Reality Bites

"Franz Camenzind captured something essential in his “Guest Shot” last week: Science is under siege, and the effects are not abstract — they are visible right here in Jackson Hole.

This valley survives on respect for reality. We live in a place where weather, wildlife, wildfire risk, water scarcity and tourism pressures do not yield to opinion. Ranchers, outfitters, wildlife biologists, physicians, guides and conservationists all share one thing: Our work depends on evidence. Ignore evidence in Teton County long enough, and someone gets hurt.

As a physician practicing here, I have seen what happens when scientific expertise is dismissed. People delay vaccines, follow misinformation instead of medical advice or turn to online speculation instead of evidence-based care. That is not a political talking point — it is a danger to our patients, our children and the older residents who built this community. I use “better understanding reality” as a guiding principle in my psychotherapy work.

This valley has always relied on people who look at facts as they are, not as we wish them to be. Yet we are now watching national anti-science rhetoric seep into local conversations, eroding trust in the very tools that make life here possible. From avalanche forecasting to water management to public health, science is not optional in a place as unforgiving as the Tetons. It is our survival manual.

But even as I defend science, I recognize its boundaries. A financially savvy friend of mine goes to church and frames faith like a call option: cheap to hold, costly to ignore if one is wrong. I don’t know if he’s right, but I do know this: No one in Jackson Hole — no rancher, no climber, no physician — has ever demanded that science explain every mystery before trusting what it can explain.

I’ve heard the difference put simply: For those who believe, no proof is necessary; for those who don’t, no proof is possible.

In my work, I demand proof. But demanding omniscience from science is just another form of denial. This community faces enough real hazards — from climate shifts to wildfire smoke to strained health infrastructure. We cannot afford to wage war on the essential system that helps us understand and navigate them.

Science isn’t perfect. But in Jackson Hole, ignoring it is not just foolish. It’s dangerous."

Dr. Stuart Sugarman

Jackson