2010 Wyoming Statutes
Title 36 - Public Lands
Chapter 5 - Leasing Generally

CHAPTER 5 - LEASING GENERALLY

 

36-5-101. Qualifications of lessees; lease terms; rental.

 

 

(a) No person shall be qualified to lease state lands unless that person has reached the age of majority, and is a citizen of the United States, or has declared an intention to become a citizen of the United States. No person or legal entity shall be qualified to lease state lands unless he or it has complied with the laws of this state and is authorized to transact business in this state.

 

(b) The rental of any lease awarded shall be based on an economic analysis and shall reflect at least the fair market value for the same or similar use of the land based upon a formula adopted by the board using the following criteria:

 

(i) Readily available data averaged over an adequate number of years to remove any radical fluctuations;

 

(ii) Factors which reasonably reflect the true market value of state leases;

 

(iii) Parameters within which the board can be responsive to changing resource conditions, market demand and industry viability;

 

(iv) Factors which reasonably reflect the contributions made by the lessee.

 

36-5-102. Maximum term of agricultural or grazing lease.

 

No lease for agricultural or grazing purposes shall be issued for a term of more than ten (10) years.

 

36-5-103. Application for lease; cancellation of application.

 

Any person, firm, association or corporation desiring to lease state lands for agricultural and grazing purposes shall file with the director an application on the form approved by the board, which must be accompanied by the regular filing fee, and a certified check, bank draft, cashier's check, post office or express money order, cash or personal check acceptable to the director for the full amount of the first year's rental offered; and if there are improvements owned by another located upon said lands, the applicant must also transmit in the manner above provided, the estimated amount of the value of the improvements as listed in his application, and in the event the successful applicant fails, refuses or neglects to complete the lease awarded, or otherwise fails, refuses, or neglects to comply with the provisions of this act, or the rules and regulations of the board, after having been given thirty (30) days notice by registered mail, the application shall be cancelled and the sum remitted as rentals and twenty-five percent (25%) of the sum remitted for improvements shall be retained by the board as liquidated damages; and the sum paid as rental shall be paid by the director to the state treasurer and credited by him to the proper permanent land income fund account, and the sum paid for improvements shall be credited to the general fund.

 

36-5-104. Time for filing renewal applications.

 

All applications to lease grazing and agricultural lands under outstanding leases must be filed in the office of state lands and investments not earlier than one hundred twenty (120) days prior to, and not later than thirty (30) days prior to the expiration date of the existing lease. Any conflicting application to lease grazing and agricultural lands under any existing lease shall be filed in the office of state lands and investments not earlier than one hundred twenty (120) days prior to, and not later than, ninety (90) days prior to the expiration date of the existing lease. Upon receipt of a conflicting lease application the office of state lands and investments shall notify the current lessee that a conflicting lease application has been received and shall provide the current lessee not less than thirty (30) days from receipt of notice to file a lease renewal application.

 

36-5-105. Criteria for leasing; preferences; assignments, subleases or contracts; lands taken for war purposes; mineral lands excepted; agricultural lands.

 

(a) All state lands leased by the state board of land commissioners, for grazing and other agricultural purposes shall be leased in such manner and to such parties as shall inure to the greatest benefit to the state land trust beneficiaries.

 

(b) In leasing vacant lands, preference shall in all cases be given to applicants who are bona fide resident citizens of the state qualified under the provisions of W.S. 36-5-101, and to persons or legal entities authorized to transact business in the state, having actual and necessary use for the land and who are the owners, lessees or lawful occupants of adjoining lands, who offer to pay an annual rental at not less than fair market value, as determined by the economic analysis pursuant to W.S. 36-5-101(b), for the use of the forage or other commodity available annually on the land for a period of ten (10) years.

 

(c) An applicant who is the holder of an expiring lease, and has paid the rental when due, and has not violated the provisions of the lease, and is qualified under the provisions of W.S. 36-5-101, shall have a preferred right to renew such lease by meeting the highest bid offered by another qualified applicant who has actual and necessary use for the land and available forage and whose bid is not less than the minimum fair market value as determined by the board for the same or a similar use of land using the formula developed pursuant to W.S. 36-5-101(b) and not more than one hundred twenty percent (120%) of the maximum fair market value as determined by the board based on the previous year's values for the state, district or county, whichever is most localized and available, as determined by the national agricultural statistics service utilizing:

 

(i) The private land lease rate per animal unit month for Wyoming grazing leases; or

 

(ii) The private land irrigated or nonirrigated cropland lease rate, as applicable, for Wyoming cropland leases on irrigated or nonirrigated cropland; and

 

(iii) A downward adjustment of twenty percent (20%) to reasonably reflect lessee contributions typically provided as a part of a private land grazing lease rate or a private cropland lease rate, as applicable.

 

(d) If the lessee of state lands shall assign, sublease or contract all or any part of the lease area, the lease shall be subject to cancellation unless such assignment or sublease or contract is approved by the director, subject to criteria established by the board of land commissioners; however, no such approval shall be arbitrarily or unreasonably withheld and all action upon each application therefor, shall be such as will inure to the greatest benefit to the state land trust beneficiaries, provided, that in no event shall the lands be subleased unless one-half (1/2) of the excess rental is paid to the state.

 

(e) Repealed By Laws 2007, Ch. 111, 2.

 

(f) Provided further, that whenever any state owned lands have been or may hereafter be condemned or acquired by the United States for war purposes and whenever said lands may hereafter be reconveyed to the state of Wyoming by the said United States or any department thereof, then in such event the state board of land commissioners shall give preference to the lessee holding said lands at the time of the taking of said lands by the said United States or any department thereof.

 

(g) Provided further, that this act shall not be applicable to the leasing of state mineral lands under the provisions of W.S. 36-6-101 through 36-6-105, as amended.

 

36-5-106. Richard Bridge historical park.

 

The state board of land commissioners is hereby authorized and empowered, if after investigation and study the board deems it to the best interest of the state of Wyoming, to enter into a lease agreement with the town of Evansville, Wyoming, for a portion of the land belonging to the state of Wyoming lying south of the centerline of the North Platte River in section 36, township 34 north, range 79 west of the sixth principal meridian, Natrona county, Wyoming. The lease authorized herein shall contain a clause restricting the use of the leased property to historical landmark, park, recreation, museum and municipal purposes. The land leased shall be known as Richard Bridge historical park.

 

36-5-107. Preference in granting leases on exchanged lands.

 

The holder of a lease of any school, state or institutional land that is offered for exchange under section 8, of the Taylor Grazing Act, shall have preference to lease the land received in such exchange.

 

36-5-108. Even rental offers.

 

If two (2) or more qualified applicants shall offer the same annual rental for the same lands, and such offers are the highest offers received and are equal to or above the minimum rental fixed by the board, and no preference exists in the old lessee, or if such old lessee does not exercise such preference, the director shall grant the lease to the applicant holding title to lands nearest to the lands applied for. When a preference exists in the old lessee under the provisions of this act, he shall be given fifteen (15) days notice by registered mail, and if he fails or refuses to file his acceptance together with the balance of the rental due for the first year, within the time specified, the lease shall be awarded automatically to the applicant offering to pay the highest annual rental, or in the event of even offers, shall be disposed of as hereinbefore provided.

 

36-5-109. When rental due; procedure upon failure to pay.

 

Upon notice provided not less than thirty (30) days prior to the anniversary date of a lease, all rentals accruing to the state by virtue of this act, except those for the first year, shall become due and payable at the office of the director on the anniversary date of the lease. If the rent is not paid on the anniversary date, the director shall notify the lessee or his authorized agent by certified mail that the lease will be cancelled if the rent and a late fee equal to ten percent (10%) of the annual rental is not received within thirty (30) days following the date of the notice. If the lease is cancelled, the director shall as soon as possible thereafter, advertise the lands in the county where located, as vacant and subject to lease.

 

36-5-110. Right to make and remove improvements.

 

A lessee of state lands shall have the right to construct or make improvements upon state lands in the amount of two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) per section, without first obtaining permission. If the lessee or any other person desires to construct or make improvements upon state lands in excess of the value of two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) per section, he shall file an application for permission to construct or make the improvements with the director, which shall be subject to allowance or rejection as the best interests of the state require. The director shall have authority to grant permission to construct improvements in excess of two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) for fencing, water development, livestock handling facilities and range enhancements. Any other improvement in excess of two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) shall be applied for under a special use permit. Unless permission has been obtained in the manner provided by this section, the owner of the improvements in excess of the value of two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) per section shall not be entitled to compensation therefor as provided by W.S. 36-5-111 and 36-9-105, and upon the expiration of the lease the improvements shall forfeit to and become the property of the state; except, that within one hundred twenty (120) days from the date of the expiration of the lease, the owner may remove such improvements in a manner which minimizes injury to the land.

 

36-5-111. Payment for or removal of existing improvements.

 

Any applicant applying to lease state lands upon which there are fences, buildings, reservoirs, ditches, dams, wells, or other improvements of any kind, belonging to or made by another, or for which water rights or proportionate interests in irrigation reservoirs, canals, or systems, have been acquired, shall before receiving the lease, pay to the director for the use and benefit of the owner or maker of any improvements at the time of the execution of the lease, the contributory value thereof as finally determined by the board in accordance with its rules and regulations; or the owner of the improvements shall, upon giving notice to the director in writing within the time fixed by board rule and regulation, have the right to remove those improvements in a manner which minimizes injury to the land; provided, that the improvements be removed within a period of one hundred twenty (120) days from the date of the expiration of the lease. For purposes of this section, "contributory value" means the increased value of the property after the lessee's improvements are considered.

 

36-5-112. Form and execution of lease; bond.

 

The general form of grazing and agricultural lease upon state lands shall be prescribed by the board and shall be signed by the director on behalf of the state. Except in cases where the board deems necessary, leases shall be issued without bond.

 

36-5-113. Cancellation of leases.

 

The board shall have the power and authority to cancel leases procured by fraud, deceit or misrepresentation, or for use of the lands for unlawful or illegal purposes, or for the violation of the covenants of the lease, upon proper proof thereof.

 

36-5-114. Leasing for industrial, commercial and recreational purposes; authority; rental fees; rules and regulations.

 

(a) The board of land commissioners may lease for a term of not more than seventy-five (75) years state lands for industrial, commercial and recreational purposes.

 

(b) The board may lease state lands for purposes which shall bring about the compatible use of the surface area and shall inure to the greatest long term benefit of the state land trust. Provided, however, that nothing herein contained shall result in the substantive impairment of existing leases or the preferential right to the renewal thereof.

 

(c) The board shall fix a rental value based upon not less than the fair market value of each use of the land. If the land to be leased under this subsection was originally acquired by the state for the benefit of the common school permanent land fund, and is to be used by a Wyoming school district for the construction and maintenance of school buildings and facilities, the board may assess an annual rental fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00) per acre or not less than fair market value, whichever is less.

 

(d) The board shall promulgate rules and regulations implementing policies, procedures and standards for the long-term leasing of state lands for industrial, commercial and recreational purposes under the provisions of W.S. 36-5-114 through 36-5-117, including provisions requiring compliance with all applicable land use planning and zoning laws and permitting the board to terminate a lease for good cause shown.

 

36-5-115. Leasing for industrial, commercial and recreational purposes; "recreational purposes" defined.

 

As used in W.S. 36-5-114 through 36-5-117 the term "recreational purposes" means land used for cabin sites, public camp sites, public parks and recreation areas, golf courses and any associated residential development, youth groups and ski or winter sports areas.

 

36-5-116. Leasing for industrial, commercial and recreational purposes; assignment or transfer.

 

Leases issued under the provisions of W.S. 36-5-114 through 36-5-117 shall not be assignable or transferable except with written consent of the board of land commissioners.

 

36-5-117. Lessee's liability.

 

A state lands lessee's liability to users of those lands is limited as specified in W.S. 34-19-101 through 34-19-106.