Last week our community packed the Teton County Library to tell the Wyoming Office of State Lands and Investments (OSLI) to Stop The Auction of the Kelly Parcel!
Likewise, our community greeted the Western Governor’s Conference with a Stop The Auction, Sell to The Park Rally on Town Square.
But this unique parcel is still not safe from an auction. It will ultimately be up to The State Board of Land Commissioners (the 5 top state elected officials) who will vote on the Auction of the Kelly Parcel at their December 7th meeting.
There are still 3 Public Hearings around the state. Encourage your friends and family to attend any of these meetings to give their own input to OSLI.
- November 16th – Casper, WY (passed)
- November 21st – Cheyenne, WY
- November 28th – Cody, WY
See the details of these meetings here.
What can I do?
Make a public comment – the comment period ends on Dec. 1st — Write comments to: Jason Crowder, Office of State Lands and Investments, at 122 W. 25th Street, Herschler Building Suite W103, Cheyenne, WY 82002 or by email at jason.crowder@wyo.gov
We’ve made a Kelly Parcel Public Resource site to help distill the most important information to help you write an informed comment.
Below is a copy of Conservation Director, Kevin Krasnow’s oral comment to OSLI at last week’s meeting:
Mr. Governor and the Trustees of the Office of State Lands and Investments,
I speak today as someone who has just spent the last decade working as an ecologist at the Kelly campus of the Teton Science Schools, which is one mile directly north of the Kelly State Parcel on Ditch Creek. I know, first-hand, the wildlife who use those lands – grizzly, moose, elk, deer, badgers, beavers, sage grouse, bald eagles, golden eagles, goshawk, porcupine, ermine, marten, great grey, great horned, coyote, fox, skunk, pronghorn, cougars, wolves, and many others…
These critters will be the true losers if this land is sold and subdivided or otherwise developed.
Further, Hunters and Anglers stand to lose access to unparalleled sporting opportunities on these precious lands.
And lastly, the people of Wyoming will lose. They will lose a piece of land that is worth much more open and public than it will ever be subdivided and developed.
I applaud your worthy mission to raise funds for education. And, an auction to the highest bidder comes with serious risks that this habitat will be converted to a neighborhood. I’m confident that there are ways to raise significant funds for the school children of Wyoming, while also keeping this precious wildlife habitat open. A true win-win for the people and wildlife of Wyoming.
Thank you for ensuring this Public land stays in Public hands and out of the hands of those who would
develop them.
Kevin Krasnow, Ph.D.
Conservation Director
Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance
