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A square mile parcel south of Jackson will be protected from development for the next 35 years, thanks to a motion passed by the Wyoming State Land Commission on Thursday.
The land commission unanimously approved a proposal set forth by Jackson Hole Land Trust in partnership with Friends of Munger Mountain, and approved by Teton County, who will manage the lease with area partners.
The lease starts at $75,000 a year, pending annual inflation increases and a five-year reappraisal. Over the next 35 years, it is anticipated to rake in at least $2.6 million for Wyoming’s public schools.
The joint effort between several local government and conservation groups has been in the works since a controversial Bozeman-based developer sought to use the land for commercial “glamping” in 2020, stirring up public sentiment about the parcel’s future.
In collaboration with Friends of Pathways and Teton County Parks & Recreation, the proposal plans to connect an enhanced multi-use trail system in the Munger Mountain parcel to those in the adjacent Bridger-Teton National Forest.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to enhance the hunting, horseback riding, mountain biking, hiking, and generate significant new revenue for public schools,” Luther Propst, a Teton County county commissioner, said at the meeting.
Propst quipped that such unanimous community support for a proposal may be a first in the county since its inception in 1921.
To say Mark Sullivan, local attorney and founder of Friends of Munger Mountain, was elated that Teton County supported the proposal for state approval might be an understatement.
In the early days of raising awareness about the proposal, Sullivan dressed up in a giraffe costume around Jackson carrying a sign to promote the Specific Purpose Excise Tax (SPET) initiative he hoped would help fund the conservation effort.
“That was absurd. It was embarrassing. It was abject humiliation — and it was absolutely worth it,” Sullivan told the land commission during Thursday’s meeting.
State senator Mike Gireau, who represents Teton County, commended the proposal for staying true to Wyoming’s agriculture and ranching values.
“How do we monetize this, but really recognize the value of open spaces, as well as grazing spaces, and how that all fits into our state mosaic?” Gireau asked ahead of the land commission’s vote.
Adding that the lease was “a long time coming,” Gireau suggested the Munger Mountain conservation effort could serve as a model for other state land issues moving forward.
The Pilot Hill lease in 2020 outside Laramie was the most recent similar land lease agreement reached in Wyoming.
