The recent hubbub over a proposal to mine limestone on state land adjacent to historic
Devil's Gate provides yet another example of the systemic problems plaguing the
management of state trust lands in Wyoming.
For those of you unfamiliar with this particular brouhaha, Rissler-McMurry
Company, a large, Casper-based highway contractor, filed an application with the
Board of Land Commissioners to lease a 640-acre parcel of state land near Devil's
Gate, a nationally significant historic site along the Sweetwater River, for
limestone mining. The state section proposed for mining is situated in the heart
of what is arguably one of the most important historic areas in Wyoming, if not
the West. The Oregon, Mormon and California trails, the Pony Express route, Martin's
Cove, Split Rock and Independence Rock are all close by. As Barbara Dobos, a former
legislator and state lands watchdog, observes, "it would be difficult to find another
place in Wyoming where the rich pioneer history of the westward movement in this
country converges at a single location."
There is no doubt that mining activities would have destroyed the historic
integrity of the area. Yet, without so much as a cursory review of the potential
impacts to the site from mining, and without the benefit of public input or even
a tour of the area, the Board's professional staff recommended approval of the
lease application. Fortunately, the issue became moot when Rissler-McMurry Company
withdrew its application after learning that the state section lacked suitable
aggregate for road building.
Admittedly, the issues surrounding the management of state lands are as varied
and complex as the lands themselves. Conveyed by the federal government to Wyoming
at statehood and by subsequent acts of Congress, these lands encompass some 3.6
million acres: sections 16 and 36 in each township plus other parcels scattered
around the state. Income generated by the lease and sale of state lands helps
support the state's public school system.
Incredibly diverse, these lands contain high-elevation alpine meadows, jagged
peaks, crystal-clear trout streams and lush, old-growth forests, as well as sage-shrub
steppes, high plains and desert basins. Developers and real estate speculators in
Teton County offer millions of dollars to purchase choice parcels at the base of ski
areas, while parcels elsewhere have fetched a measly $60 per acre, a "whopping" fifty
dollars more than the statutory minimum.
Under Wyoming's Constitution, management and control of state lands resides with
the Board of Land Commissioners. Comprised of the state's top five elected
officials-the governor, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor and superintendent of
public education-the Board meets once each month to consider various proposals. For
the most part, the staff is authorized to conduct the Board's routine business-such
as issuing mining and grazing leases; the Board becomes involved in more significant
matters such as the exchange or sale of state lands.
Leases for coal, uranium and trona, oil and gas development, commercial logging,
livestock grazing and other industrial uses are perfunctorily approved, virtually in
all cases without prior public notice and environmental review. Yet, strangely, the
Board prohibits rather innocuous uses, such as overnight camping and camp fires. Even
more bizarre, agricultural lessees of state lands often receive substantially more in
damage payments from third parties, such as oil and gas companies, than they pay in
rentals. (Under current rules, the lessee gets to keep half of whatever amount is
negotiated with the third party.) And most frustrating to recreational users of these
lands, access is sometimes blocked off, either by illegal fencing and posting or, more
often, simply by land ownership patterns where private lands completely encircle state
sections.
The state has never made a comprehensive inventory of our state lands. A long-term
plan for the management, use and disposition of these lands does not exist. The current
rules lack adequate opportunities for public participation in management decisions
affecting state lands, fail to ensure the highest return for the state's public
schools, and don't provide necessary safeguards to protect the condition of lands
and the long-term interests of Wyoming's citizens. And most importantly, there
appears to be no consensus on how these lands should be managed.
The laws and policies governing the use and management of Wyoming's state lands
are hopelessly out of date and should be revised to better address the needs and
concerns of our public school system and Wyoming's citizens. Our state lands are
too important to do otherwise
Dan Heilig
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