2 weeks Ago By MEAD GRUVER Associated Press and WTE staff reports
CHEYENNE — Wyoming officials voted Thursday to proceed with selling a spectacular, pristine 640-acre piece of state property within Grand Teton National Park to the federal government for $100 million and end decades of threats to sell it to the highest-bidding private developer. The 3-2 vote by the state Board of Land Commissioners — made up of Gov. Mark Gordon and the other top four state elected officials, all Republicans — puts the square-mile (2.
6-square-kilometer) parcel with an unobstructed view of the Teton Range a step closer to becoming part of the park. The land that has been a bone of contention between Wyoming and federal officials for decades may finally be on track to sell by the end of this year. “There’s clearly a right decision to be made.
This is a very rare opportunity for you to do the right thing for education in Wyoming,” Wyoming Senate President Ogden Driskill, a Republican, urged the board before the vote on the Kelly Parcel. Conservation and sportsmen’s groups have made similar appeals to keep the property out of private hands, even though selling to developers could net the state the highest dollar return. The state land surrounded by national parkland on all sides has belonged to Wyoming since statehood.
However, leasing it for grazing has brought in only a few thousand dollars a year, far below what the state could get from a modest return on investing the proceeds of a sale. As in other states, particularly in the West, revenue from state lands funds public education. The two officials voting no — Secretary of State Chuck Gray and Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder — said they hoped to strike a better deal under President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration, possibly involving a swap for fossil-fuel-rich federal lands elsewhere in the state.
But in a news release late Thursday, Gordon outlined his reasons for supporting the sale now. “In public testimony, I heard overwhelming support for this sale and the benefits it will bring to Wyoming students in the form of long-term revenue,” Gordon said in the release. “This is an iconic parcel, and we have been given a unique opportunity for it to join Grand Teton National Park in perpetuity while protecting current hunting and grazing uses.
I am also excited that these proceeds can be used to substantially add to the State’s portfolio of lands and minerals. I thank Treasurer (Curt) Meier and Auditor (Kristi) Racines for putting Wyoming’s future first.” The Kelly Parcel was appraised in 2022 at the value of $62.
5 million, according to the governor’s release. The state will receive $100 million for the parcel, with $62.5 million paid by the federal government and the remaining $37.
5 million coming from private philanthropy. Investment managers have indicated revenue from the sale could generate another $64 million in investment income over the next 10 years, the release said. “Proceeds from the sale, if finalized, would be available for the State Loan and Investment Board (SLIB) to pursue an agreement with the BLM to purchase federal lands and minerals within Wyoming,” according to the news release.
“The SLIB, made up of the five elected officials, directed the Office of State Lands to identify federal lands within the Powder River Basin for acquisition.” The governor noted the authorization does not preclude the filing of legal action over the Bureau of Land Management’s final Record of Decision (ROD) for the Rock Springs Resource Management Plan. As a part of this sale agreement, final authorization of the Kelly Parcel sale will be made only upon the governor’s certification of BLM’s final Rock Springs RMP ROD meeting the conditions set by the Legislature, the release said.
For decades, Wyoming governors have threatened to sell the land within Grand Teton to the highest bidder if the federal government didn’t want to buy it. The threats led to on-and-off negotiations and three previous sales of other state land within the park to the federal government totaling $62 million. Get any of our free email newsletters — news headlines, sports, arts & entertainment, state legislature, CFD news, and more.
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