Posted inThe Pitch, Uncategorized

Grand Teton lands bill passes Wyoming legislature

by Staff

Grand Teton lands bill passes Wyoming legislature

— March 6, 2014

(Press Release) — The Wyoming Legislature voted today to support the sale of 1,280 acres of state School Trust land in Grand Teton National Park in return for federal land elsewhere in the state with valuable mineral rights.

The bill won’t become law until it is signed by Gov. Matt Mead, who is expected to make his decision later this week. Mead previously supported the measure as a member of the State Board of Land Commissioners.

Due to the value of the lands in question, Sharon Mader, Grand Teton Program Manager for the National Parks Conservation Association, said it has been a “$100 million question,” as to whether the state and federal government could reach a fair and equitable agreement.

“The Legislature engaged in serious, thoughtful and intelligent debate on the $100 million question,” Mader said. “They have now passed a bill authorizing the exchange, and this exchange will be of great benefit to Grand Teton National Park, the State of Wyoming and the school children of Wyoming.”

The efforts have been underway since 2009, when then Gov. Dave Freudenthal and other state officials announced their desire to sell state-owned holdings within Grand Teton National Park to increase revenues to the state’s Education Trust. The state extended an offer to the federal government to work out an agreement to purchase those lands.

Since then, NPCA and allies have worked to support state and federal entities in creating an agreement that would allow the Park Service to purchase the lands at fair market value.

Citizens from across the state and across the country have commented in favor of the efforts, and the purchase has risen to the top of the National Park Service’s nationwide priority list for land acquisition. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell has stated that the project is a top priority for her, as well.

The first phase of the agreement was successfully completed in January of 2013, when the Park Service paid $16 million to acquire 86 acres along the Snake River.

A second important target date to acquire the 640-acre Antelope Flats parcel for $45 million was missed in early January. Instead, the state and federal government renegotiated the agreement to allow the exchange of land in lieu of cash. The bill passed by the Wyoming Legislature this week approves this renegotiated agreement and will allow the process to move forward as a land-for-land exchange.

The state and federal government hope to complete the land exchange within the next two years.

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Posted inThe Pitch, Uncategorized

Grand Teton lands bill passes Wyoming legislature

by Staff

Grand Teton lands bill passes Wyoming legislature

— March 6, 2014

(Press Release) — The Wyoming Legislature voted today to support the sale of 1,280 acres of state School Trust land in Grand Teton National Park in return for federal land elsewhere in the state with valuable mineral rights.

The bill won’t become law until it is signed by Gov. Matt Mead, who is expected to make his decision later this week. Mead previously supported the measure as a member of the State Board of Land Commissioners.

Due to the value of the lands in question, Sharon Mader, Grand Teton Program Manager for the National Parks Conservation Association, said it has been a “$100 million question,” as to whether the state and federal government could reach a fair and equitable agreement.

“The Legislature engaged in serious, thoughtful and intelligent debate on the $100 million question,” Mader said. “They have now passed a bill authorizing the exchange, and this exchange will be of great benefit to Grand Teton National Park, the State of Wyoming and the school children of Wyoming.”

The efforts have been underway since 2009, when then Gov. Dave Freudenthal and other state officials announced their desire to sell state-owned holdings within Grand Teton National Park to increase revenues to the state’s Education Trust. The state extended an offer to the federal government to work out an agreement to purchase those lands.

Since then, NPCA and allies have worked to support state and federal entities in creating an agreement that would allow the Park Service to purchase the lands at fair market value.

Citizens from across the state and across the country have commented in favor of the efforts, and the purchase has risen to the top of the National Park Service’s nationwide priority list for land acquisition. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell has stated that the project is a top priority for her, as well.

The first phase of the agreement was successfully completed in January of 2013, when the Park Service paid $16 million to acquire 86 acres along the Snake River.

A second important target date to acquire the 640-acre Antelope Flats parcel for $45 million was missed in early January. Instead, the state and federal government renegotiated the agreement to allow the exchange of land in lieu of cash. The bill passed by the Wyoming Legislature this week approves this renegotiated agreement and will allow the process to move forward as a land-for-land exchange.

The state and federal government hope to complete the land exchange within the next two years.

Leave a comment

WyoFile's goal is to provide readers with information and ideas that foster constructive conversations about the issues and opportunities our communities face. One small piece of how we do that is by offering a space below each story for readers to share perspectives, experiences and insights. For this to work, we need your help.

What we're looking for: 

  • Your real name — first and last. 
  • Direct responses to the article. Tell us how your experience relates to the story.
  • The truth. Share factual information that adds context to the reporting.
  • Thoughtful answers to questions raised by the reporting or other commenters.
  • Tips that could advance our reporting on the topic.
  • No more than three comments per story, including replies. 

What we block from our comments section, when we see it:

  • Pseudonyms. WyoFile stands behind everything we publish, and we expect commenters to do the same by using their real name.
  • Comments that are not directly relevant to the article. 
  • Demonstrably false claims, what-about-isms, references to debunked lines of rhetoric, professional political talking points or links to sites trafficking in misinformation.
  • Personal attacks, profanity, discriminatory language or threats.
  • Arguments with other commenters.

Other important things to know: 

  • Appearing in WyoFile’s comments section is a privilege, not a right or entitlement. 
  • We’re a small team and our first priority is reporting. Depending on what’s going on, comments may be moderated 24 to 48 hours from when they’re submitted — or even later. If you comment in the evening or on the weekend, please be patient. We’ll get to it when we’re back in the office.
  • We’re not interested in managing squeaky wheels, and even if we wanted to, we don't have time to address every single commenter’s grievance. 
  • Try as we might, we will make mistakes. We’ll fail to catch aliases, mistakenly allow folks to exceed the comment limit and occasionally miss false statements. If that’s going to upset you, it’s probably best to just stick with our journalism and avoid the comments section.
  • We don’t mediate disputes between commenters. If you have concerns about another commenter, please don’t bring them to us.

The bottom line:

If you repeatedly push the boundaries, make unreasonable demands, get caught lying or generally cause trouble, we will stop approving your comments — maybe forever. Such moderation decisions are not negotiable or subject to explanation. If civil and constructive conversation is not your goal, then our comments section is not for you. 

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

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