The Office of State Lands and Investments will be closed on Monday, May 25, in observance of Memorial Day.
When Wyoming became a state on July 10, 1890, the federal government granted approximately 4.2 million acres of land to the State of Wyoming. The law requires state lands be held in trust to produce income to support public schools and other state institutions named in the original grants.
State trust assets are managed for two key purposes consistent with traditional trust principles: (1) long-term growth in value, and (2) optimum, sustainable revenue production.
In the years since the privilege to recreate on State Trust Lands was granted by the Board of Land Commissioners (Board) to the general public, the Office of State Lands and Investments (OSLI) has encountered numerous situations in which requests to restrict specific activities on certain State Trust Lands have been made.
Those requests have been submitted by state lessees, adjacent landowners, other state agencies, and the general public. Additionally, OSLI may also initiate a restriction upon the discovery of a detrimental situation occurring on State Trust Lands.
The most common restrictions placed on State Trust Lands by the Board have been Walk-In Areas and Habitat Management Areas (in conjunction with Wyoming Game and Fish Department), closure to motorized vehicles (due to resource damage, dumping of refuse, etc.), and firearms restrictions (due to safety concerns).
The H Diamond W Youth Camp has submitted a request to OSLI to close to public use approximately 20 acres of state trust land leased for their recreational youth camp in Hot Springs County. The lessee has operated the youth camp on the site since the 1960's and is requesting the premises of Special Use Lease #SU-00032 be closed to public use for camper safety concerns. The proposed closure would include the following state trust lands:
Township 45 North, Range 101 West
Section 15: 20 acres in NESW and NWSE
If you would like to provide comments on this proposed restriction, please use the comment form to the right.