‘Selfie Control’ filter aims to reduce human wildlife conflict

Photo: Instagram // Selfie Control Filter

“Filters like this are precisely the kinds of tools we need when educating Summit County visitors about wildlife interaction to really make it easy to understand,” noted Morgan Mingle, Director of Sustainable Tourism for Park City Chamber & Visitors Bureau.

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — Visit Jackson Hole has launched a new “Selfie Control” filter for Instagram that educates visitors on maintaining safe distances when photographing wildlife. The new filter, which includes distance measures for grizzly bears, elk, black bear and moose offers benefits for Park City’s residents and visitors who frequent most of these animals in the area.

For many, these animals are sights to be seen in the wild, prompting a quick snap of a photo to capture the moment. However, this can come at a cost, and Visit Jackson Hole’s new Selfie filter hopes to prevent conflicts due to people coming too close and posing a threat to the animals and themselves.

“For professional photographers and amateurs alike, it’s hard to tell if a moose or bison is 25 or 100 yards away just by ‘eyeballing’ it,” said Erik Dombroski, chair of the Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board. “That’s why we created the Selfie Control filter—so visitors can easily gauge proper distance for their safety, as well as the wildlife they are sharing space with, while still allowing for a memorable shot.”

Users can search for the Selfie Control filter on Instagram, select the animal they’re observing, and align the animal’s outline with the icon. If the animal appears larger than the icon, it indicates the viewer is too close for safety.

Visit Jackson Hole has made the Selfie Control filter files open-source, allowing destinations like Park City, among others, to consider adopting and customizing the tool for local wildlife education efforts.

“It’s our hope that the filter can allow other wild destinations that are home to wildlife to keep their visitors and wildlife safe as visits are sure to increase during the summer travel season,” said Crista Valentino, executive director, Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board. “We want to see the numbers of stunning wildlife images on the rise and incidents and accidents steeply decline.”

The Park City Chamber of Commerce is now considering personalizing the “Selfie Control” filter for Park City in the wake of their rebrand.

“Filters like this are precisely the kinds of tools we need when educating Summit County visitors about wildlife interaction to really make it easy to understand,” noted Morgan Mingle, Director of Sustainable Tourism for Park City Chamber & Visitors Bureau. “Visitor education is at the core of the Chamber’s new Mountainkind brand, which encourages trail etiquette, public transit, water conservation and, of course, best practices around wildlife sightings.”

The original Selfie Control filter is currently available on Instagram and can be found via the Visit Jackson Hole website.