April 22-23, 2025

Rochelle Gateway Center, Laramie, Wyoming

Convened by the Ruckelshaus Institute at the University of Wyoming's Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources

in partnership with the Wyoming Office of State Lands and Investments (OSLI)

The history of state trust land is inextricable from the very foundations of our democracy, but is often overlooked or misunderstood. From the mid 1700s to the late 1950s, state trust lands were granted to states upon admission to the union as a way to encourage public education, which America’s founders viewed as integral to a thriving republic. Today, there are approximately 46 million acres of state trust land across 23 states. 85 percent of them lie in the Intermountain West—Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

Trust lands are managed to make money for schools and other public institutions, traditionally by selling leases for oil and gas development, mining, grazing, and logging, and through land sales. Taking the average of 2019 to 2023, Wyoming’s 3.5 million surface acres and 3.9 subsurface acres produce around $163 million in revenue annually, the vast majority of which comes from mineral leases and royalties, particularly oil and gas development. In addition to revenue generation, in 1992 the Wyoming Board of Land Commissioners granted the public the privilege of using trust lands that they could access without trespassing on other lands, with the exception of camping and open fires.

As markets evolve and public interest in the management of Wyoming's state trust lands grows, the Ruckelshaus Institute sees this moment as an opportunity to create shared understanding about the history and role of state trust lands while exploring the potential of new and emerging uses to integrate with existing uses and provide additional revenue streams to support Wyoming's public institutions.

Goals

  1. Increase awareness and understanding of the unique role of state trust lands to provide benefit to public institutions, primarily K-12 schools. 
  2. Discuss challenges that limit the Office of State Lands and Investments' ability to effectively manage natural resources and funds for current and future generations or take advantage of new and emerging opportunities.
  3. In light of growing and potential future uses of state trust land, identify strategies and paths forward that help state trust lands meet their constitutional obligation to generate revenue for the beneficiaries while also supporting the broader needs of Wyoming citizens.
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Agenda

View or download a PDF version of the agenda, with speaker bios, here > 

Day 1 - April 22

Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center | 222 S 22nd St, Laramie, WY 82070

8:30-9:30am: Breakfast and Registration

9:30-9:45am: Welcome

  • John Koprowski, Dean, Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources
  • Stacia Berry, Director, Office of State Lands and Investments

9:45-11:00: Presentation 

For the Beneficiaries: Illuminating the oft-forgotten and misunderstood history and role of state trust lands, understanding current use and management, and looking to future challenges and opportunities.

  • Jason Crowder, Former Deputy Director, Office of State Lands and Investments
View the slides

11-11:15am: Break

11:15-12pm: Lightning talks

Money Matters: A brief foray into the investment side of state trust land.  

  • Trust principles and fiduciary responsibility, Bridget Hill, Wyoming Attorney General
  • Turning land into sustainable revenue streams, Curtis E. Meier, Jr., Wyoming State Treasurer
  • Funding education and other public institutions, Brian Farmer, Executive Director, Wyoming School Boards Association

12-1pm: Lunch              

1-2pm: Panel + Q&A.

Managing in the Mix: Successes and challenges navigating the interface between trust parcels and the lands and communities around them.

  • Moderator: Melanie Armstrong, Ruckelshaus Institute Director
  • Sarah Brown Mathews, Executive Director, Pilot Hill Inc
  • Len Carlman, Teton County Commissioner
  • Bill Novotny, Johnson County Commissioner
  • Carter Napier, Casper City Manager

2-3pm: Facilitated dialogue + Small group discussions

Engaging the Public, Meaningfully: A conversation about achieving more sustainable, less contentious land-use decisions.

  • Moderator: Callie Berman, Research Scientist, Ruckelshaus Institute
  • Erica Jensen, Land Management Supervisor, Trust Land Management Division, Office of State Lands and Investments 
  • Ben Bump, Assistant Director, Field Services Division, Office of State Lands and Investments 
  • Melissa DeFratis, Communications and Policy Analyst, Office of State Lands and Investments
View the slides

3-3:15pm: Break

3:15-4:15pm: Panel + Q&A

Beyond our Borders: State trust land management and innovation in other western states

4:15-4:45pm: Presentation + Q&A

$100 million: An update on Kelly Parcel revenue and the proposed purchase of land in the Powder River Basin

  • Cody Booth, Assistant Director, Trust Land Management Division, Office of State Lands and Investments 
View the slides

4:45-6:00pm: Reception with cash bar and poster session from Haub School capstone undergraduate and graduate students

 

Optional: Dinner at Altitude Chophouse & Brewery

320 S 2nd St, Laramie, WY 82070. Back room (seats 70) reserved under "State Trust Land Forum."

Starting at 6:00pm and continuing through the evening, connect with other forum attendees and keep the conversation going with a buy-your-own dinner at Altitude Chophouse & Brewery in downtown Laramie.

Day 2 - April 23

Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center | 222 S 22nd St, Laramie, WY 82070

8-9am: Breakfast

9-10:30am: Concurrent workshop sessions. These sessions will be driven by small-group discussions, so please come prepared to participate. 

New and Emerging Uses: What are the barriers and opportunities, how would it work, what benefits could it provide to the beneficiaries and others?

  • Salon A: Renewable energy development
  • Salon B/C: Recreation and public access
    • Kickoff presentation: Recreation on Trust Land Across the West. Temple Stoellinger, Associate Dean, Haub School View the slides
      • Read the 2017 report from the Governor's Task Force on Outdoor Recreation, which includes recommendations related to state trust lands
      • Forthcoming June 2025: "Public Playgrounds or Private Trust: The future of recreation on state trust lands" in the Environmental Law Reporter
  • Salon D/E: Residential and commercial development
    • Kickoff presentation: Arne Jorgensen, Mayor, Jackson 

10:30-11am: Break

11-12:30pm: Concurrent workshop sessions. These sessions will be driven by small-group discussions, so please come prepared to participate. 

New and Emerging Uses: What are the barriers and opportunities, how would it work, what benefits could it provide to the beneficiaries and others?

12:30-1:30pm: Lunch

1:30-2:30: Concurrent workshop sessions. These sessions will be driven by small-group discussions, so please come prepared to participate. Where the morning is primarily focused on "defining the problem," or better understanding the situation, this afternoon session will be focused on designing solutions in working groups formed around specific challenges raised during the morning discussion. 

Bringing it Together: Integrating emerging and existing uses through partnerships and policy

  • Salon A: Renewable energy and carbon capture and sequestration
  • Salon B/C: Recreation and conservation
  • Salon D/E: Residential and commercial development 

2:30-3:30: Salon B/C:  Panel + Audience Q&A.

Takeaways: Bringing knowledge and partnerships from the forum into your work

  • Moderator: Birch Malotky, Emerging Issues Initiative Coordinator, Ruckelshaus Institute
  • Stacia Berry, Director, Office of State Lands and Investments
  • Jim Magagna, Executive Vice President, Wyoming Stock Growers Association
  • Eric Barlow, Senator, Wyoming State Legislature
  • Travis Brammer, Director of Conservation, Property and Environment Research Center 
  • Marguerite Herman, Board Member, Advocates for School Trust Lands 

Lodging

Our room block is no longer available. The Hilton Garden Inn and the Holiday Inn are the closest hotels to the forum venue.


THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

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