Wyoming checkerboard lands Purchase

[highfastflyer]

Looks like the Governor is getting more serious about this land purchase. It is over 1 million acres of surface land, mostly in SW Wyoming but scattered all across the checkerboard lands. More importantly, it will include over 4 million acres of mineral royalty lands so long term a good investment for Wyoming. Hopefully it will all be made available for public hunting if legally accessible or open up more checkerboard public lands. https://www.wyofile.com/governor-preps-bid-for-occidental-land-leaving-lawmakers-out/

 

[hawkbill]

That’s a good move on Wyoming, if it was Idaho it would be going to the highest bidder

 

[mulecreek]

It is going to the highest bidder. If Wyo is the highest bidder then they most likely overpaid.

If Wyo ends up with these lands I see it as being largely no change from current. Oxy(Anadarko) was largely excellent about allowing access, I don't see Wyo doing anything different. The areas that are closed because they are leased will still be leased. The only thing that will happen over time is the areas they allow access will get smaller. This will take place regardless of who the owner is. The market forces are the same whether Wyo owns it or some other private or public company. Wyo is bidding on the this because they believe it is a good investment. Idle land is a bad investment. If Wyo gets it I don't see development happening faster than with some other entity but I also don't see it going slower.

The access issues surrounding the checkerboard are not from Oxy they are from the other private entities that purchased sections from UP, Anadarko, Oxy over the years. I think this practice will continue even if Wyo owns it.

I don't know if this purchase is a good idea for Wyo or not. Too many unknowns on my part but in the end I don't see this fundamentally changing anything for the public land hunter.

 

[highfastflyer]

Sorry for such a rough sketch but as I see it, maybe I’m missing it but West of the Continental divide Anadarko already gave access but East of it most of the Anadarko sections were not open to hunting. The state could still lease out the old Anadarko sections but could allow hunting or at a minimum access across State owned lands. For example A is Anadarko lands and B is BLM lands. If you have an access road shown in black then essentially all of these sections would now be open where in the past only the one in the middle left side was open.

 

[grosventrehunter]

I like the idea, but doubt it will happen. There will still be corner crossing issues, but much better than know. I don't see the state treating in any different than current state owned lands.

 

[elks96]

There will be ample opportunity to comment. My local reps said they will be pushing hard for language allowing public hunting access through dedicated HMAs or similar set up. That was months ago and now that it is moving again we need to make our voices heard.

 

[pymulies]

I think you should all be prepared for tons of wind energy development on the properties that will support it. The state is broke and will be looking to make those lands as profitable as possible. The I-80 corridor is more than likely going to be a forest of wind mills to push energy to the west coast. Especially with the Miller Hill/Chokecherry projects moving forward and a ROW granted for transmission lines already approved through Rawlins and Rock Springs.
Just my opinion
PY

 

[BuzzH]

I think you should all be prepared for tons of wind energy development on the properties that will support it. The state is broke and will be looking to make those lands as profitable as possible. The I-80 corridor is more than likely going to be a forest of wind mills to push energy to the west coast. Especially with the Miller Hill/Chokecherry projects moving forward and a ROW granted for transmission lines already approved through Rawlins and Rock Springs.
Just my opinion
PY

I agree...but the same thing is going to very likely happen if a private enterprise purchased it.

If I'm going to have wind energy development either way, I'd rather the state make the money and I can have access to hunt, fish, etc. on the stuff that isn't developed.

 

[elks96]

I agree...but the same thing is going to very likely happen if a private enterprise purchased it.

If I'm going to have wind energy development either way, I'd rather the state make the money and I can have access to hunt, fish, etc. on the stuff that isn't developed.

Not to mention we would have more of say in what is developed and what is not developed. Plus also I feel we could designate some areas HMA and Walk-in with minimal developments and then areas where there are more intense development.

I do know one thing when it is private it will eventually have no input from us at all, and eventually all will be closed. Seen it in Colorado over the last 20 years, just a matter of time here in WY.

 

[mulecreek]

I agree...but the same thing is going to very likely happen if a private enterprise purchased it.

If I'm going to have wind energy development either way, I'd rather the state make the money and I can have access to hunt, fish, etc. on the stuff that isn't developed.

Its going to take a chit ton of wind turbines to make this a good investment. Crude calculations of around 8% of the total purchased acreage would need to be wind turbines for the investment to breakeven.

Fact is the only way this will be a good investment for anyone is if it is developed over time. If Wyo owns it Wyo is going to have to advocate for development to a significantly higher degree than they do now since they now have to make a return. Additionally, they will have to overcome the loss of property tax revenue if a private entity had owned the land.

Still not sure if its a good or bad idea. It would be great to see this as a win, and I am sure some positives will come but over time I don't see this being a net positive for the public land hunter. I hope I am wrong.

It will be interesting to see how the usual players will react when Wyo wants to lease a chunk of land to (pick your choice of energy development). Wonder if the G&F's stance on impact to migrations corridors or sage grouse will differ if the State is the one advocating for the development?

 

[Chesterwyo]

It's not a forgone conclusion that the state of Wyoming will be the winning bidder on this. Berkshire Hathaway is sitting on a mountain of cash right now. And they have an appetite for reduced carbon (natural gas) and green energy (wind) this acreage has both of those in spades. And they financed a good portion of Occidental's purchase of Anadarko, which made them the owner of these properties.