Lummis seeks to enable federal purchase of Grand Teton land

A bill sponsored by Congresswoman Cynthia Lummis could help the federal government buy a parcel of land in Grand Teton National Park. Wyoming currently owns the land and could sell it for development if the federal government doesn’t buy it. But the federal government needs additional revenue to be able to afford the 107-million-dollar price tag.

To get that money, Lummis proposes reauthorizing the Federal Land Transaction and Facilitation Act, or FLTFA. The law, which expired last summer, allowed the federal government to sell land and use the proceeds to buy other land of significant public importance.

Luke Lynch, who heads the Wyoming branch of an environmental group called the Conservation Fund, says reauthorizing FLTFA would be good for Wyoming.

“I think it brings another tool for land conservation in an economic and efficient manner that can kind of fit the goals of Wyoming folks,” Lynch said.

Lynch says in the past, the federal government used FLTFA to buy land along the North Platte River near Casper. That provided additional access for fishermen and other recreators.