Wyoming Considers Grand Teton Sale To Spur Feds

The governor of Wyoming is threatening to sell off state-owned land in Grand Teton National Park to private developers. He wants to pressure the federal government to come up with a good deal for the land. The land inside the park consists of two parcels of roughly a square-mile each. They're known as state school trust lands — they're supposed to generate funds for public schools, and are supposed to be "managed for maximum profit." The problem is that the land is worth over $100 million, but the state is currently only getting about $3,000 a year from grazing leases to a cattle rancher. For more than a decade the state has tried to negotiate with the feds to trade the pristine park land for property of equal value, such as land that could be developed for coal. But Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal says the federal government has not come up with a fair deal. So he decided to send a message...more