Gordon, Park Service show how to seal deal

For more than 150 years, Wyoming’s blacksmiths and farriers have lived by the old adage "Strike while the iron is hot."

Gov. Mark Gordon, the state lands office and U.S. Department of the Interior put that saying into action when they finalized a $100 million deal to add a square mile to Grand Teton National Park. After 15 years of negotiations, and much feigning and posturing, the state and federal government agreed to preserve in perpetuity 640 acres of prime wildlife habitat between the upper Gros Ventre River and National Elk Refuge.

Government leaders deserve credit for acting swiftly and decisively, but the unsung heroes of the historic deal are those donors to the Grand Teton National Park Foundation and its philanthropic partners who on short notice raised the additional $37.5 million state lawmakers extracted — some might say, extorted — for the land, above its appraised value.

Park Foundation President Leslie Mattson and her team wrangled contributions from roughly 400 donors in 46 states, ranging from $15 million to $15. The Jackson Hole Land Trust, National Park Foundation, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (via Walmart’s Acres for America) and The Conservation Fund contributed significantly, no doubt aware that the iron for conservation opportunities generally doesn’t stay hot for long. Every one of these donors stands alongside the likes of Horace Albright, Dick Winger, Harold Fabian and John D. Rockefeller Jr. in the distinguished history of Teton park. The price of preservation has risen steeply — Rockefeller and his agents paid about $1.4 million in the 1920s for roughly 35,000 acres, the equivalent of less than $30 million in today’s dollars.

The American public has benefited greatly from the foresight of our state, federal and community leaders who came together to broker deals for the Kelly parcel and the three other Teton park inholdings, purchased for a combined $62 million. Wyoming students also will benefit enormously for generations to come, as the $100 million raised from the Kelly sale ultimately could grow to $1 billion if invested prudently.

Finally conserving the 640-acre Kelly parcel, which was in real peril given the whims of some lawmakers in the Wyoming Legislature, is cause for the community to celebrate. But as we raise a glass to what has been achieved, we also must resolve to keep plenty of fuel for the forge — for the challenges to our heritage that lie ahead. Given the politics and economics, conservationists increasingly have been coming to the table with cash, which speaks loudly and opens opportunities once thought unachievable.

Whether it’s purchasing water from farmers or irrigators for preserving flows in the Snake River, buying drilling rights or saving other inholdings in the Bridger-Teton National Forest from development, the community and its philanthropic leaders must be ready to back up their principles with the necessary bucks — and strike quickly when the moment presents itself.