Wyoming lawmakers reveal whether stunning patch of Grand Teton will be turned into luxury condos

Wyoming lawmakers have agreed to a $100 million deal to transfer a parcel of land within the boundaries of Grand Teton National Park to the federal government, preventing it from being turned into luxury condos.

The ‘Kelly’ parcel had been the subject of negotiations for years as one of the last remaining areas established before the national park was established in 1929. according to the New York Times.

Conservationists hoped to permanently secure the land, which has sweeping views of the Teton Range, while state lawmakers wanted to sell the one-square-mile property at auction — possibly to a luxury housing developer.

But as part of a deal finalized Monday, the nonprofit Grand Teton National Park Foundation was able to raise about a third of the $100 million needed to secure the land.

The rest of the money came from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund.

The money will now be used to support education across the state.

Conservationists have hoped to permanently secure the land, which has sweeping views of the Teton Range, as state lawmakers planned to sell a one-square-mile plot of land at auction — possibly to a luxury housing developer.

“Today marks an incredible milestone, decades in the making, to permanently protect a vital wildlife migration corridor and valuable landscape in Grand Teton National Park,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement.

The deal came after high-stakes negotiations as the Park Foundation feared donors would cut off their funding if there were further delays.

A group of conservative lawmakers, who are gaining power in the state Legislature, have also expressed a desire to break the deal during the legislative session that begins in January.

But ultimately, Wyoming lawmakers struck a deal to save the land if the federal government eased restrictions on development, including oil and gas drilling, on other federal lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management.

Gov. Mark Gordon, a Republican, then announced last week that the federal government had met the terms of the agreement, but said he hoped to change those land management plans with the new Trump administration.

Wyoming lawmakers have struck a deal to save the land if the federal government eases restrictions on development, including oil and gas drilling, on other federal lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management.

Grand Teton is one of the most popular national parks, attracting more than 3 million people annually.

Leslie Mattson, president of the Grand Teton National Park Foundation, said Monday that preserving the Kelly plot was “truly priceless.”

Noting that saving the land is important to preserve wildlife habitat, she said the development of luxury real estate apartments would have slowed the migration of animals into the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem – one of the few remaining temperate ecosystems on Earth disturbed.

“It could have been terrible for the wildlife,” Mattson said.