JACKSON, Wyo. — Teton County is accepting public comment beginning today Aug. 5 through Sept. 3 about a potential acquisition of 14 parcels of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land totaling over 1,000 acres.
The parcels are currently federal public lands administered by the BLM Pinedale Field Office. The parcels are located along the Snake River and Gros Ventre river corridors between the southern boundary of Grand Teton National Park and the South Park boat ramp.
The Teton County Board of County Commissioners has expressed interest in potentially acquiring all of the BLM parcels, following a years-long transfer process. In 2020, the BCC hired Western Land Group to help determine a feasible path to transfer ownership and ensure the parcels are appropriately managed and protected.
According to a press release from Teton County, “Western Land Group has concluded that carefully crafted Congressional Legislation directing the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to convey the BLM Parcels to non-federal governmental entities is the most feasible means of transferring ownership of the BLM Parcels in a way that conforms with the provisions in the Snake River Resource Management Plan for perpetual public access to the parcels, and the protection of scenic, wildlife habitat, and open space values in perpetuity using conservation easements.”
In 2004, BLM created a Snake River Resource Management Plan providing the disposal of the parcels from the BLM administration. The plan required that the parcels be retained in public ownership and that public access, open space, wildlife habitat, and recreation values be maintained. The plan states that any sale, exchange, or transfer of public land will include, where appropriate, the use of conservation easements to prohibit the development and preserve scenic values, wildlife habitat, and open space.
Then, in 2008, a task force consisting of representatives from the BLM Pinedale Field Office, Snake River Fund, Bridger-Teton National Forest (BTNF), Teton County, Wyoming Game and Fish Commission (WGFC), and Jackson Hole Land Trust held community meetings and developed an implementation plan in 2008 on how to transfer ownership of the BLM parcels.
The 2008 plan recommended ownership transfers. Two parcels were to be transferred to BTNF, six to WGFC, and six to Teton County.
The transfers never occurred and since then, both BTNF and WGFC have decided their agencies no longer want ownerships of the parcels.
The proposed framework for the management of the BLM parcels if ownership is transferred to Teton County can be found here.
Written public comment can be mailed to Teton County at PO BOX 3594, Jackson, WY 83001, delivered to the Teton County Administration Building at 185 South Willow Street in Jackson, or via e-mail through the Teton County Public Comment site.
Following public comment, WLG will compile the information presented and return to the Teton County Board of Commissioners with recommendations.
