Feds purchase WY state land to protect it

[Power54]

I would have rather have had that same $46Million used for a larger purchase, or a whole bunch of easements, on the ground projects, etc that could open up or impact a whole lot more ground...

It's a good point but, as noted earlier, half of the money was from private donations specifically for that acquisition. It would have been a real shame to fragment that portion of Grand Teton with a development but it did cost a whole lot of money to prevent that from happening. Its worth it though IMO.

 

[wytex]

I guess most of you don't know where that section is. Right in the middle of Antelope Flats. No development should go there. The state did the right thing selling to the feds. Private development there would not be good. Right in the middle of the bison migration route.

 

[BigHornRam]

Wow! And I thought the dirt around Whitefish was high priced!

 

[Ben Lamb]

Wow! And I thought the dirt around Whitefish was high priced!

Whitefish is downright plebeian compared to Jackson Hole.

Wytex - very familiar with it.

 

[LopeHunter]

Wyoming has a $700 million shortfall due to cheap nat gas and nobody wanting coal. They are slashing positions left and right and ending many programs.

Did the state budget bloat in the good times? I recall a professor telling me that when the stream lowers is when you notice the boulders. Hope the cuts are made where are least damaging though have been around government enough to know they usually cut the heck out of things voters will pass local taxes to fund such as schools and law enforcement rather than cut back on middle management and pet programs.

 

[Ben Lamb]

Did the state budget bloat in the good times? I recall a professor telling me that when the stream lowers is when you notice the boulders. Hope the cuts are made where are least damaging though have been around government enough to know they usually cut the heck out of things voters will pass local taxes to fund such as schools and law enforcement rather than cut back on middle management and pet programs.

State budgets generally grow during times of plenty, but in states like Wyoming, that growth is usually tempered by very conservative appropriators who keep the growth within the inflation index or slightly above, based on needs such as infrastructure, employee health costs, public education etc. States are not immune to inflation, just as businesses or individuals. Wyoming has a Permanent Mineral Trust Fund which is used to offset the busts that they are accustomed too, but with revenues declining so significantly, they'd have to bust that trust in order to achieve parity with the budget already passed.

Some light reading:
https://ballotpedia.org/Wyoming_state_budget_and_finances

 

[shootbrownelk]

I guess most of you don't know where that section is. Right in the middle of Antelope Flats. No development should go there. The state did the right thing selling to the feds. Private development there would not be good. Right in the middle of the bison migration route.

It's between Blacktail butte , Shadow Mountain and the Snake river, with a fantastic view of the Tetons. It's also an Elk and Antelope migration route along with Bison. A lot of Cow elk were shot on the flats years ago when I hunted in the Park....before the wolves were released.