Join SRF in the Fight to Keep Public Lands in Public Hands

For more than 20 years, local and regional stakeholders have worked towards a shared goal:

Transfer Snake River public land parcels out of federal ownership while keeping them public, accessible, and protected.

Today, we are closer than ever to achieving that goal. But key decisions being made right now will determine whether that vision is fully realized – or fundamentally altered.

Why It Matters

These riparian parcels:

• Provide incredible public access opportunities
• Support critical wildlife habitat
• Preserve open space in a rapidly changing landscape
• Reflect a long-standing community-drive vision for public lands.

The History

2004 — Federal Decision

After a multi-year public process, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) adopted a plan to:

• Transfer parcels out of federal ownership
• Keep them in public ownership
• Ensure:
  • Public access
  • Wildlife habitat protection
  • Open space preservation

2008 — Stakeholder Plan Created

A coalition of partners — including Teton County, the Snake River Fund, and others — developed a Snake River Corridor Transfer Plan that:

• Recommended transferring parcels to entities like Teton County
• Called for conservation easements
• Emphasized continued public access and habitat protection
• Envisioned a connected system of public lands along the Snake River

2008–2020 — Slow Progress

• Some parcels were successfully transferred through Administrative processes
• Others stalled due to complexity and competing interests

2020 — Teton County Takes the Lead

Teton County began actively pursuing completion of the remaining transfers:

• Strong community support remained
• Momentum increased to finish what had been started

Today — Key Decisions Ahead

Most parcels are moving forward.

However, Parcel 9/10 (near Emily Stevens Park) has become a central point of debate — not over whether it should be public, but how it should be managed once transferred.

The location of all of these parcels can be explored using THIS MAP TOOL.

The Current Issue

For Parcel 9/10, the process has slowed due to disagreement over future management.

Some proposed transfer agreements include conditions that would:

• Restrict when the public can access the land
• Limit certain recreational uses currently allowed today
• Introduce significant influence from a single adjacent landowner over future management decisions

The Bottom Line

• 4W is seeking management control over 400+ acres of public land in exchange for a pathway easement along Highway 22.