The sale of the beloved Kelly Parcel, the former state section that has now been successfully incorporated into Grand Teton National Park, represented a win-win for wildlife and state trust beneficiaries. The $100 million generated from the sale will benefit Wyoming’s education system for decades to come. Unfortunately, some legislators are dead-set on preventing future deals with the federal government that could result in huge sources of revenue to the state — and also infringe on private property rights.
HB118 flew through the House Agriculture committee last week on an 8-1 vote, and without much debate, before passing the House Committee of the Whole shortly thereafter. The bill would essentially limit any land exchanges or conveyances that would result in a net gain of federal public lands. Even worse, the bill would potentially prevent private landowners from selling or conveying their land for conservation purposes or public access.
In addition to an attack on landowners’ rights, this bill is shortsighted because it stymies deals that often result in more benefits to the state. Even the Office of State Lands and Investments testified on the draft bill, indicating that it runs counter to the state agency’s existing rules and regulations and current efforts to find and shepherd deals to maximize state lands revenues. That’s because within state land sales or exchanges, valuation is not calculated solely on acreage.
In the case of the Kelly Parcel, a tract that has high conservation value, a combination of private and federal funding resulted in a sale to the federal government that was $38 million more than the parcel’s appraised value. So why would legislators want to shackle our own state agencies, infringe on private property rights, and prevent future deals that result in more public lands? We have no idea — but what we do know is that bills like HB118 are an affront to Wyoming values.
Most Wyomingites can agree that finding ways to conserve land while also generating revenue for the state is a benefit to all Wyomingites, and our wildlife, too. That’s why we need YOU to speak out against shortsighted legislation like HB118. In the coming weeks, we’ll be asking you to take action on a variety of bills, including this one and other draft legislation that impact the values we care about most. We hope you’re ready for the challenge and stay tuned for more, very soon.
Image: Charles Stirum