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Wyoming State Trust Lands

Land Exchange Process

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Jenifer E. Scoggin�Director�April 28, 2022

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Wyoming

Office of State Lands & Investments

History and Nature of Trust Land

Organic Act

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• Approved by Congress on July 25, 1868
• Provided temporary government for the Territory of Wyoming
• Provided that sections numbered 16 and 36 in each township in the territory shall be reserved for the purpose of public schools in the state

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Wyoming

Office of State Lands & Investments

History and Nature of Trust Land

Wyoming Constitution

• Constitutional Convention September 2, 1889 to September 30, 1889
• Ratified by the Wyoming voters on November 5, 1889
• Article 7:

-All money arising from the sale or lease of school lands are perpetual funds and only the annual income from the funds can be appropriated

-All funds belonging to the state for public school purposes is deemed trust funds in the care of the State, which is kept for the exclusive benefit of public schools

-Income from perpetual funds and rents from unsold school lands is exclusively applied to the support of free schools in every county.

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Wyoming

Office of State Lands & Investments

Constitutional Framework

Wyoming Constitution, Article 18, Section 1:

• The State of Wyoming accepts the grants of lands made by the United States to the state, for educational purposes, for public buildings and institutions and for other objects

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Wyoming Constitution, Article 18, Section 3:

• Board of Land Commissioners shall have direction, control, disposition and care of all lands granted to the state

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State Trust Land is owned by the State and held in a Trust for the benefit of public education in the State and other state institutions. The Board of Land Commissioners is the trustee of trust lands.

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Wyoming

Office of State Lands & Investments

The Board of Land Commissioners is composed of the Governor, Secretary of State, State Auditor, State Treasurer, and Superintendent of Public Instruction.

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The Board is constitutionally charged with optimizing revenue from state trust lands to support public education and beneficiary institutions, while concurrently striving to protect, conserve, and maintain the lands so they may be used by future generations.

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Board of Land Commissioners�

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Wyoming

Office of State Lands & Investments

Constitutional Framework

• Article 18, Sec. 4:

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The Legislature:

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Enacts the necessary laws for the sale, disposal, leasing or care of all lands granted to the State

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Passes laws for suitable safekeeping, transfer and disbursement of land grant funds

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Wyoming

Office of State Lands & Investments

History and Nature of Trust Land

Act of Admission

• Admitted the State of Wyoming into the Union
• Approved July 10, 1890
• Ratified the Wyoming Constitution
• Again addresses the granting of Sections 16 and 36 of each township to the state for purpose of maintaining common schools
• School lands may only be disposed of at public auction
• Granted certain lands to support other state purposes – UW, Vets Home, State Hospital, etc.
• Legislature has the power to regulate leasing of lands so long as the term of agricultural and grazing leases shall not exceed 10 years

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Wyoming

Office of State Lands & Investments

Direction, control, disposition and care

W.S. 36-2-107 (a)

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The Board of Land Commissioners shall have the power and authority to promulgate and adopt rules and regulations not inconsistent with the laws of the state, as it may from time to time deem necessary in the direction, control, disposition and care of all state lands, and to preserve the value of the land and to recognize the fiduciary duties of the state land office.

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Wyoming

Office of State Lands & Investments

Office of State Land & Investments

Administrative arm of the Board of Land Commissioners and the State Loan and Investment Board

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• Statutory responsibility to carry out the policy directives of the Board

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Wyoming

Office of State Lands & Investments

State Trust Land Beneficiaries

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Wyoming

Office of State Lands & Investments

• Wyoming State Trust Lands

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Wyoming

Office of State Lands & Investments

Statutory Principles:

• State land trust shall be managed under a total asset management policy.
• State land trust is intergenerational and must be managed with a focus on protecting the corpus for the long term.
• Trust land should remain a substantial component of the trust portfolio.
• All leases shall provide a fair market value return, considering the lessees’ management practices and risk.
• Investment policies must protect permanent land fund from effects of inflation.

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Wyoming

Office of State Lands & Investments

Trust Land Management Objectives

When OSLI evaluates courses of action with State Trust Land, OSLI follows what are known as Trust Land Management objectives.

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• A proposal need not meet all objectives.

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• The objectives are listed in order of decreasing priority (highest to lowest).

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Wyoming

Office of State Lands & Investments

Trust Land Management Objectives

1. Better meet the beneficiaries’ short and/or long term objectives:

Revenue-

-Improve income generating potential

-Alone or in combination with other state lands

-Single or multiple uses

Investment Value-

-Improve returns

-Improve portfolio diversification

-Improve appreciation potential

-Improve intrinsic natural resource values (i.e. habitat, water)

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Wyoming

Office of State Lands & Investments

Trust Land Management Objectives (cont.)

2. Improve the manageability of the land asset:

-Consolidate ownership patterns

-Leverage management resources of other agencies/entities�

3. Meet a specific school and/or community need:

-Improve stability

-Provide growth opportunity

-Improve access/recreational opportunity

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Wyoming

Office of State Lands & Investments

Management Paradigm

State Trust Land “Public” Land

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Office of State Lands BLM

Optimize Revenue vs. Multiple Use & Sustained Yield

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Wyoming

Office of State Lands & Investments

Authority for Land Acquisitions

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• State statute authorizes and empowers the Director of OSLI, with Board approval to make equitable land acquisitions on behalf of, and to the benefit of the trust. (Wyo. Stat. 36-1-110 & 36-1-111)
• These exchanges can take place with private parties and/or the federal government.
• Land exchanges must improve the trust’s financial standing or stability and must always be value for value.

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Wyoming

Office of State Lands & Investments

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Wyoming

Office of State Lands & Investments

Voluntary Land Exchange (VLE) Process

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• Recent addition to Chapter 26 of the Board’s Rules and Regulations�
• VLEs allow for the trade of inaccessible parcels for accessible parcels in a very efficient manner.�
• All VLEs still follow the acquisition and disposal analysis outlined previously. Once Board preliminarily approves of exchange, a non-negotiable Price Opinion (PO) is developed by OSLI (instead an appraisal). If the nominating party accepts the PO, the appraisal requirement is waived�
• Should nominating parties fail to accept the PO, they may terminate the transaction or secure a USPAP certified appraisal�
• Once the PO or appraisal is accepted by both parties the parcel exchange goes through an abbreviated public comment period (30 days). A hearing is conducted only if requested by the applicable board of county commissioners.

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Wyoming

Office of State Lands & Investments

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Questions??

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Wyoming

Office of State Lands & Investments