JACKSON — With federal legislation mandating the sale of at least 2 million acres of public land moving swiftly through Congress, Teton County commissioners say they want the same kind of exemption the state of Montana secured.
The commission voted last week to send an urgent letter to Wyoming U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis, asking them to put an exemption for federal land in Teton County into the bill.
The request comes after Montana Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines successfully carved out an exemption for his state from the sweeping budget reconciliation bill. If it passes, the bill would require the disposal of between 2 million and 3 million acres of Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service lands across 11 Western states, including Wyoming.
While only a fraction of eligible land would actually be sold, some have claimed the provision makes more than 250 million acres eligible for potential sale, including public land near Jackson.
"I am concerned about the sense of urgency that this is being considered in the Senate as we speak," Teton County Commissioner Luther Propst told his colleagues during a June 17 meeting. "And it's important that we communicate rapidly."
The county commission approved sending identical letters to Barrasso and Lummis, as well as U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman, requesting that Teton County be excluded from the pending reconciliation bill.
The measure, authored by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, would give federal land management agencies 60 days to identify 0.5% to 0.75% of their holdings in affected states for potential sale.
What About Housing?
Commissioners expressed particular concern that any federal land sales in Teton County would exacerbate rather than solve the area's housing crisis. That’s in contrast to supporters, who say facilitating affordable house would be a main focus of any land sales.
In their letter, they argued that disposal of public land would be "much more likely to worsen our housing crisis, rather than to mitigate or address our housing shortage."
"The development of additional luxury homes, as almost certainly dictated by our real estate market, only creates more jobs and worsens the imbalance between local jobs and local houses that our workforce can afford," the letter states.
The federal legislation contains no requirements that any housing development remain affordable, despite being marketed as a solution to Western housing shortages, the commissioners say.
Any nomination for sale need only include "a description of [how the sale] would address local housing needs, including housing supply and affordability," according to the bill's language.
Lummis’ office told Cowboy State Daily the Teton County letter has made it to Washington, D.C.
“Yes, we’ve received this letter from the Teton County Commissioners,” her office said. “We’ve also received many other letters from them requesting public land transfers in Teton County over the years.”
Propst told Cowboy State Daily on Monday that the requested land transfer and the proposed sale of public lands are two separate issues.
“We're eager at getting these little scraps of BLM land that are not very well managed by the BLM, and I don't mean that to insult the BLM, it's just too far from their headquarters, too far from the presence of a law enforcement officer for them to manage well,” said Probst, explaining the county’s request for the transfer of BLM lands. “And we would take those lands because the BLM has asked us to do so. We'd rather see them managed closer to home.”
As for what selling public land to housing developers would mean in Teton County, Probst said, “We have to look at what would be the inevitable pressures of the market. And that would be high-end housing.”
Other Counties
Propst, who drafted the initial letter, said he was careful to avoid conflict with other Wyoming counties.
"This was drafted with the idea of stating Teton County's concerns and being very careful not to step on the prerogatives of any other county in Wyoming," Propst said. “I'm a little nervous about doing something that would cause other counties to think that we're trying to undermine their goals because they might be in favor of shrinking the public lands.”
The discussion also revealed tensions over local control in the federal land disposal process.
Under the proposed legislation, local governments would have the right to match sale prices for nominated parcels, but there are questions about how much influence counties would actually have over which lands are put up for sale.
Teton County Commission Chairman Mark Newcomb suggested the importance of commissioners having input on federal land sales, noting precedent from the Land and Water Conservation Fund process where counties previously sought review authority over federal land acquisitions.
“We also are strongly in favor of local control,” said Newcomb. “If this does pass, there has to be local control over those final lands that are suggested by whatever agency, whether it's the BLM or the Forest Service, in our case for sale that this board of commissioners has some say in that.”
Teton County Commissioner Len Carlman emphasized the urgency of the situation, saying he was "very keen to get this letter out the door today."
"We have been, are and will be light on our feet, and if there needs to be a follow up letter, we'll write one," he added.
Zoning Implications
The commissioners also discussed existing county zoning provisions that would apply to any federal land sold to private parties.
Planning Director Chris Neubecker explained that when land transfers from federal agencies to private ownership, "The land shall be assigned an appropriate zone pursuant to the procedures" before any development happens.
The broader federal legislation has created a rift among Western Republicans, with the entire congressional delegations of Montana and Idaho opposing public land sales in their states, while Wyoming's delegation has been more supportive of strategic land transfers.
Hageman voted to advance the House version that allowed land sales in Utah and Nevada counties.
Wyoming public land advocates have questioned why Montana received an exemption while Wyoming didn't. Rick Mickelsen, spokesperson for the Keep it Public Wyoming coalition, recently asked, "Why aren't we exempt, and Montana is?"
The Teton County letters cite the community's 2020 Jackson Teton County Comprehensive Plan as evidence of local dependence on the existing balance between public and private lands.
The county argues that additional development on current public lands would degrade wildlife habitat, which serves as "a significant foundation of our local economic prosperity and quality of life."
A BLM map generated during the agency’s routine updating of resource management plans identifies numerous Wyoming parcels categorized for either "Sale" or “Sale Exchange” across some desirable locations in Teton County.
For example, several parcels outlined in pink and categorized as “Sale Exchange” sit near Jackson along the Snake River. An additional parcel outlined in green and marked for outright "Sale" sits just outside the resort community of Teton Village.
David Madison can be reached at david@cowboystatedaily.com.
