State treasurer urges audit of state land leases, citing low fees and missed revenue

State Treasurer Kurt Meyer asked the Management Audit Committee to examine returns on state land leases, arguing the state has not done a deep review in decades and that some flat fees appear disproportionate to market values.

Meyer cited examples to illustrate his point: "They're, like, $2 an acre every 2 years" for some leases and gravel rates of roughly "$60 a ton," while he said a neighbor received "a half million dollars a section" for solar panels on private land, equating that amount to "200 years of leases for grazing cattle." He urged an audit that benchmarks Wyoming's lease rates, royalty arrangements and mineral estate returns against surrounding states.

Meyer noted the purpose of state lands to support public education and referenced Article 18 Section 3 of the state constitution in arguing the legislature and land board should ensure the corpus is preserved and maximized for that purpose. "Once you get the facts, then you can bring those facts to industry," he said, recommending a management audit to collect data on acreage, current lease terms and comparable market revenues.

The committee added the topic to the interim agenda for further development; staff and the Department of Audit will prepare materials for a deeper review and benchmarking ahead of the June/August interim meetings.