District court strikes down efforts from state, Natrona County to stop gravel pit leases

CASPER (WNE) — Natrona County District Court judge ruled Tuesday that the Wyoming State Board of Land Commissioners acted improperly in its choice to terminate multiple exploratory leases for land on Casper Mountain in June. 

The ruling, handed down by Judge Joshua Eames, also found that Prism Logistics was not required to follow county zoning regulations on the land it leased from the state. 

Eames' ruling only directly decided circumstances relating to the first lawsuit Prism Logistics filed in relation to leases initially signed on June 3, 2023, that the SBLC voted not to renew by a slim margin this year. 

It doesn't directly make a call on the two other lawsuits filed by Prism in connection with leases that weren't renewed — the most recent of which was filed in October 2025 — but it does set a precedent, should it hold.

Following the ruling, Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray issued a statement lamenting the judge's decision, calling the move "outrageously wrong" and an "activist decision." 

"The Wyoming Constitution is clear that the Wyoming State Board of Land Commissioners is made up of state officers elected by the citizens of Wyoming, not by appointed judges," Gray said. 

Gray sits on the SBLC and voted against renewing the leases on all three occasions. 

The dispute over zoning resolutions dates back to a September 2024 Natrona County Board of County Commissioners meeting, in which the board voted to amend zoning regulations on Mountain Residential-1 land to prohibit passage of vehicles over a certain weight from driving on roads leading to the land that Prism had leased.

This story was published on Jan. 8, 2026.