State eyes Moskee

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
The potential state acquisition of 4,349 acres of land owned by Moskee Land Corporation LLC., located in Crook County, commonly known as “The Grand Canyon of the Black Hills” or “Moskee,” is in the public comment stage with a public hearing scheduled for Dec. 9, according to Jessica Murkin, lands management program analyst for the Wyoming Office of State Lands and Investments. 
With the detailed analysis work on the property completed, dated Nov. 17, the proposed acquisition enters a 60-day public comment period, with a meeting scheduled halfway through that period. 
The proposal states that the Office of the State Lands and Investments submitted the application for the acquisition on March 26, 2018. The transaction is being facilitated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture/U.S. Forest  Service-administered Forest Legacy Program. 
“After preliminary review, the director determined the subject property may be suitable for acquisition and moved the transaction to the Category II Acquisition list on Dec. 27, 2018,” the proposal states. “On April 4, 2019, the State Loan and Investment Board voted to approve the Resolution Authorizing the Acquisition of an Option to Purchase the Subject Property. This approval allowed OLSI to begin the due diligence process for the land transaction related to the subject property.” 
The proposal then states that the SLIB board, authorized by the Wyoming Legislature, could make the request to State Treasurer Curt Meier for funds received from the sale of state trust lands for the acquisition of Moskee. 
The 4,349 acres in question are located in the eastern portion of Crook County approximately 7 miles east of Sundance. The property adjoins 620+ acres of state trust land, and if purchased, would create a 4,969.51-acre block of contiguous state trust land. 
This land, according to the proposal, “lies between two blocks of U.S. Forest Service land and connects approximately 7,313 acres of outlying U.S. Forest Service lands to the main body of the Black Hills National Forest.”
“The parcel is accessible via the “Moskee” road which is maintained on a seasonal basis,” the proposal says. “The subject property consists of topography varying from steep forested canyons to meadows populated with native grasses and forbs. Over 90% of the property is forested, primarily consisting of ponderosa pine, aspen and bur oak. Cold Springs Creek, a live, walk-over stream, runs through the property with several developed and undeveloped springs scattered throughout.” 
According to the Crook County assessor’s Office, the property, classified as agricultural land, has a market value of  $11.525 million and an assessed value of nearly $1.1 million. If the transaction with the state is completed, the property will be removed from the assessor’s tax rolls. The estimated tax on the property when it is in private hands is $68,429.69.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department evaluated the subject property and in a letter dated Sept. 19 stated that the acquisition would provide various habitat protection to birds, small mammals, ungulates and large felines, according to the proposal document. The department noted that the recreational value may be increased with public access for hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing and other outdoor activities. 
The proposal also says that the detailed analysis of the property has determined that the proposed land acquisition meets the Board of Land Commissioners’s Trust Land Management Objectives by meeting the beneficiaries’ “short and long-term objectives of revenue generation, investment return”, and “appreciation potential”, by “improving manageability of the land asset” and by “meeting a school or community need.”
Income potential for the land is possible in several areas including grazing and agricultural leasing, commercial leasing and forest product sales. 
“The subject property has been estimated to return between $6,643.50 to $38,700 in annual grazing and agricultural revenue, and $8,000 to $12,000 in commercial and non-commercial forest product sales,” the proposal states. “Expected total annual revenue ranges from $14,643.50 to $50,700.”
The investment into the property, should the State Land and Investment Board approve purchasing it, would be $4,017,647 that would be taken from the Common School Permanent Land Trust Fund which has a current balance of $9,820,207 available for the purchase of land and improvements as trust assets.
“The expected loss from investment earnings is $145,438.82+ annually. Therefore, acquisition of the subject property would not appear to meet the short term objectives for investment return; however the long term revenue generation potential, coupled with the anticipated appreciation of the subject property is expected to return 6.1% annually, outperforming the returns from investing alone,” the proposal concludes. 
After the 60-day public comment period, Murkin said, the SLIB will consider the proposed acquisition at a public meeting, tentatively scheduled for Feb. 6. 
“At this time, they will consider the proposal, as well as all comments received before they make a decision to either approve the acquisition or deny it,” Murkin said. “The board takes all public comments quite seriously. All are encouraged to have their comments into the office by Jan. 15, 2020, so that the comments can be included in the board matter.” 
Public comments, according to Murkin, can be submitted during the public hearing on Dec. 8 at 5:30 p.m. in the Crook County Courthouse basement located at 309 E. Cleveland St. Anyone requiring special accommodations at the hearing should contact the Office of State Lands and Investments at 307-777-6630 at least one week before the hearing date so arrangements can be made. 
Written comments can be mailed to the Office of State Lands and Investments, 122 West 25th St., 1st Floor East, Cheyenne, WY 82002-0600 or submitted via email to Jessica.murkin@wyo.gov.
A detailed analysis of the proposal is available for online review at lands.wyo.gov or in hard copy at the Office of State Lands and Investments in Cheyenne, the Crook County Commissioners’ Office, the Crook County Clerk’s Office and at the Cook County Public Library in Sundance. For further information about the public hearing or the land transaction, call 307-777-6630.