Nestled in the corner of Grand Teton National ParkOn a fall morning in the mountains around Jackson, Wyoming, a 640-acre plot of state-owned land sits at the epicenter of an urgent debate over conservation and economic development in the state. Edging Grand Teton National Park on three sides, the ‘Kelly Parcel’, as it is known, lies within the shelter of the Teton Range. State officials now must decide whether to permanently protect this undeveloped land for the purposes of wildlife habitat and scenic views, or pursue other competing interests such as fuel or mineral rights and open it to development.

The Stakes:

The Kelly Parcel, with its gently winding grassy hills, sagebrush meadows, and aspen stands, not only provides vital habitat for such species as elk, moose and bird life; its vistas of the Teton Range make it visually ‘grand’ and a perfect addition to the park.

But it is also desirable for development. Given its proximity to the park and to the town of Jackson, the parcel might be well-suited for high-end housing or businesses, and the state could make a substantial profit.

State’s Dilemma:

This makes Wyoming, a home to rugged individualists and fiscal conservatives, the ultimate battleground in bringing back what was once (and in places still is) the American West’s strip-mined commons. Asserting that the revenue generated by the land – which comprises Wyoming’s School Trust Land Programme higher through development than through current working ranch families (who would not be kicked off the land, only the grazing rights removed), the managers of the fund have announced plans to sell it to the highest bidder and reap some $25 million.

Conservationists and environmental groups have strongly criticized this so-called business approach, charging that the land’s biological significance is vastly greater than any immediate cash returns, and that the parcel should be sold or transferred – via gift, grant, or sale – to the National Park Service for its eventual protection and preservation.

The Proposed Deal:

This in turn has triggered public outcry, tempered by nothing more than empty rhetoric from politicians. That has led to a not-so-compelling compromise being offered by state legislators: that the state will sell the land to the NPS for $100 million, the appraised value of the land when developed.

The state has asked for a number of other concessions – in return for the sale, it wants the federal government to relinquish some control to the state over wildlife management and energy development on federal lands within Wyoming. That too has sparked renewed controversy and charges that conservation is being politicized.

The Way Forward:

It’s still possible, perhaps even likely, that the Kelly Parcel will end up not in the park, but back in the hands of traders, logging companies, and a federal Fish and Wildlife Service that has quietly signed away its own inalienable right of way for the construction of a road. The final authority rests with the state legislature, which set a deadline for the NPS to find funds from its private partners before it intervenes. The negotiations continue.

The Kelly Parcel has become a microcosm of larger tensions between conservation and development in the American West while, as the fight rages on, today’s decision about the fate of this particular vacant expanse of public land will likely become a precedent for decisions about public lands and their management across the West in the future. At the very least, it will be watched very carefully.

Once again, the residents of Wyoming – and the rest of the country – must wrestle with whether to sacrifice this irreplaceable natural treasure to near-term economic gain or longer-term preservation.

©️ The Rocky Mountain Dispatch LLC. 2024