Around the 307

News, commentary, and other items of interest from the greater Wyoming landscape.

[Want to modify the number of weekly emails you receive? Find out how at the end of this post.]

It’s November—where has the year gone? Here are a handful of Wyoming news items from the week of November 3^rd, 2024:

• On Monday, November 4^th, Cowboy State Daily published this article about all the things that can go awry when wildlife officials don’t follow their own safety rules. In the viral video below, a celebrity Armenian brown bear named Ricky almost makes a tasty snack out of an Armenian wildlife ranger. The Armenian brown bear is a close relative of the North American grizzly bear. When asked, Wyoming wildlife experts could only respond by saying let us count the ways this video illustrates all the things these rangers did wrong. Remember—safety first folks!

• Tuesday, November 5^th, was General Election Day in Wyoming. One outcome of Tuesday’s decision-making was the approval by Wyoming voters of Constitutional Amendment A giving our Legislature the authority to separate residential real property into its own class for the purposes of property tax assessment. Prior to Amendment A, residential property has been lumped together with commercial and industrial properties in a single taxation bucket. As you all know, rising property taxes have been a big topic in Wyoming over the past few years and up to this point the majority of Cowboy State homeowners have seen very little relief. With the passage of Constitutional Amendment A it’s now time for our Legislature to get to work and effect real property tax relief that benefits everyone. Read more about the passage of Constitutional Amendment A in this story from the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.

• On Thursday, November 7^th, Wyoming’s State Board of Land Commissioners (made up of Governor Mark Gordon, Secretary of State Chuck Gray, Auditor Kristi Racines, Treasurer Curt Meier and Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder) determined the fate of the Kelly Parcel, the last tract of land within the boundaries of Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) still owned by the Cowboy State. The decision to sell the state-owned land for $100 million to the federal government and Department of Interior was approved by a 3-2 vote with Gray and Degenfelder dissenting. The GTNP Foundation will kick-in $38 million to help the federal government close the deal. The sale of the Kelly Parcel has been a controversial topic for more than 20 years and first showed up on the land board’s docket in 2010. Last week’s approval of the sale to GTNP does come with some strings attached, the biggest of which is predicated on the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) not moving forward with “Alternative B” as part of its revised Rock Springs area Resources Management Plan (RMP). Those supporting the sale to the feds and GTNP see the Kelly Parcel as somewhat of a last bargaining chip before the BLM renders a final Rock Springs RMP decision, one that hopefully has an outcome more favorable to Wyoming. Read this story published by Buckrail to learn more.

The blue box depicts the location of the 640-acre Kelly Parcel.

That’s all for today buckaroos! Thanks for reading and have a great week!

---

---

Want to customize your Close to Home 307 subscription and the number of emails you receive each week? Please click this About page link and scroll midway down the page to learn how to update your settings.

---