Pristine land in Wyoming sold to US government for $100 million

CHEYENNE, Wyoming: Late last week, Governor Mark Gordon signed off on a deal to sell a one-square-mile parcel of pristine land bordering Grand Teton National Park to the U.S. government for US$100 million, effectively ending the state's longstanding threats to unload it to a developer.

Under the agreement, the federal government will pay $62.5 million for the land, based on its appraised value, with additional funds coming from private donations.

The property is covered with trees, shrubs, and sagebrush, offering stunning views of the Teton Range. It is also a vital habitat for animals like elk, moose, and grizzly bears.

Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon, a Republican, announced that he approved adding the land to Grand Teton National Park. Before doing so, his office ensured that a federal land management plan for southwestern Wyoming wouldn't impose too many restrictions on activities like oil and gas drilling. This condition was set by Wyoming's Legislature last winter.

Despite approving the sale, Gordon criticized the federal Bureau of Land Management's plan for that area, calling it "the Biden administration's parting shot" at Wyoming. The Interior Department did not comment.

Wyoming has owned this piece of land, surrounded on three sides by Grand Teton National Park and on the fourth by a national forest, since before the park was established in 1929. It is the last and most valuable of four state-owned parcels sold to expand the park in the past decade.

These lands were initially granted to states in the West at statehood to help fund public education. However, despite their high value, the state earned little money from them through activities like grazing.

Over the years, Wyoming governors pressured federal officials to buy the land by threatening to sell it at auction.

In November, Wyoming's Board of Land Commissioners, which includes the governor and four other top state officials, voted 3-2 to sell the land instead of negotiating a trade for federal mineral rights elsewhere in the state.