36-5-101. Qualifications of lessees; lease terms; rental.
(a) No person shall be qualified to lease state lands unlessthat person has reached the age of majority, and is a citizen of the UnitedStates, 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 orit has complied with the laws of this state and is authorized to transactbusiness in this state.
(b) The rental of any lease awarded shall be based on aneconomic analysis and shall reflect at least the fair market value for the sameor similar use of the land based upon a formula adopted by the board using thefollowing criteria:
(i) Readily available data averaged over an adequate number ofyears to remove any radical fluctuations;
(ii) Factors which reasonably reflect the true market value ofstate leases;
(iii) Parameters within which the board can be responsive tochanging resource conditions, market demand and industry viability;
(iv) Factors which reasonably reflect the contributions made bythe lessee.
36-5-102. Maximum term of agricultural or grazing lease.
Nolease for agricultural or grazing purposes shall be issued for a term of morethan ten (10) years.
36-5-103. Application for lease; cancellation of application.
Anyperson, firm, association or corporation desiring to lease state lands foragricultural and grazing purposes shall file with the director an applicationon the form approved by the board, which must be accompanied by the regularfiling fee, and a certified check, bank draft, cashier's check, post office orexpress money order, cash or personal check acceptable to the director for thefull amount of the first year's rental offered; and if there are improvementsowned by another located upon said lands, the applicant must also transmit inthe manner above provided, the estimated amount of the value of the improvementsas 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 andregulations of the board, after having been given thirty (30) days notice byregistered mail, the application shall be cancelled and the sum remitted asrentals and twenty-five percent (25%) of the sum remitted for improvementsshall be retained by the board as liquidated damages; and the sum paid asrental shall be paid by the director to the state treasurer and credited by himto the proper permanent land income fund account, and the sum paid forimprovements shall be credited to the general fund.
36-5-104. Time for filing renewal applications.
Allapplications to lease grazing and agricultural lands under outstanding leasesmust be filed in the office of state lands and investments not earlier than onehundred twenty (120) days prior to, and not later than thirty (30) days priorto the expiration date of the existing lease. Any conflicting application tolease grazing and agricultural lands under any existing lease shall be filed inthe 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 theexpiration date of the existing lease. Upon receipt of a conflicting leaseapplication the office of state lands and investments shall notify the currentlessee that a conflicting lease application has been received and shall providethe current lessee not less than thirty (30) days from receipt of notice tofile a lease renewal application.
36-5-105. Criteria for leasing; preferences; assignments, subleases orcontracts; lands taken for war purposes; mineral lands excepted; agriculturallands.
(a) All state lands leased by the state board of landcommissioners, for grazing and other agricultural purposes shall be leased insuch manner and to such parties as shall inure to the greatest benefit to thestate land trust beneficiaries.
(b) In leasing vacant lands, preference shall in all cases begiven to applicants who are bona fide resident citizens of the state qualifiedunder the provisions of W.S. 36-5-101, and to persons or legal entities authorizedto transact business in the state, having actual and necessary use for the landand who are the owners, lessees or lawful occupants of adjoining lands, whooffer to pay an annual rental at not less than fair market value, as determinedby the economic analysis pursuant to W.S. 36-5-101(b), for the use of theforage 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, andhas 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 preferredright to renew such lease by meeting the highest bid offered by anotherqualified applicant who has actual and necessary use for the land and availableforage and whose bid is not less than the minimum fair market value asdetermined by the board for the same or a similar use of land using the formuladeveloped pursuant to W.S. 36-5-101(b) and not more than one hundred twentypercent (120%) of the maximum fair market value as determined by the boardbased on the previous year's values for the state, district or county,whichever is most localized and available, as determined by the nationalagricultural statistics service utilizing:
(i) The private land lease rate per animal unit month forWyoming grazing leases; or
(ii) The private land irrigated or nonirrigated cropland leaserate, as applicable, for Wyoming cropland leases on irrigated or nonirrigatedcropland; and
(iii) A downward adjustment of twenty percent (20%) to reasonablyreflect lessee contributions typically provided as a part of a private landgrazing lease rate or a private cropland lease rate, as applicable.
(d) If the lessee of state lands shall assign, sublease or contractall or any part of the lease area, the lease shall be subject to cancellationunless such assignment or sublease or contract is approved by the director,subject to criteria established by the board of land commissioners; however, nosuch approval shall be arbitrarily or unreasonably withheld and all action uponeach application therefor, shall be such as will inure to the greatest benefitto the state land trust beneficiaries, provided, that in no event shall thelands be subleased unless one-half (1/2) of the excess rental is paid to thestate.
(e) Repealed By Laws 2007, Ch. 111, 2.
(f) Provided further, that whenever any state owned lands havebeen or may hereafter be condemned or acquired by the United States for warpurposes and whenever said lands may hereafter be reconveyed to the state ofWyoming by the said United States or any department thereof, then in such eventthe state board of land commissioners shall give preference to the lesseeholding said lands at the time of the taking of said lands by the said UnitedStates or any department thereof.
(g) Provided further, that this act shall not be applicable tothe leasing of state mineral lands under the provisions of W.S. 36-6-101through 36-6-105, as amended.
36-5-106. Richard Bridge historical park.
Thestate board of land commissioners is hereby authorized and empowered, if afterinvestigation and study the board deems it to the best interest of the state ofWyoming, 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 thecenterline of the North Platte River in section 36, township 34 north, range 79west of the sixth principal meridian, Natrona county, Wyoming. The lease authorizedherein shall contain a clause restricting the use of the leased property tohistorical landmark, park, recreation, museum and municipal purposes. The landleased shall be known as Richard Bridge historical park.
36-5-107. Preference in granting leases on exchanged lands.
Theholder of a lease of any school, state or institutional land that is offeredfor exchange under section 8, of the Taylor Grazing Act, shall have preferenceto lease the land received in such exchange.
36-5-108. Even rental offers.
Iftwo (2) or more qualified applicants shall offer the same annual rental for thesame lands, and such offers are the highest offers received and are equal to orabove the minimum rental fixed by the board, and no preference exists in theold lessee, or if such old lessee does not exercise such preference, thedirector shall grant the lease to the applicant holding title to lands nearestto the lands applied for. When a preference exists in the old lessee under theprovisions of this act, he shall be given fifteen (15) days notice byregistered mail, and if he fails or refuses to file his acceptance togetherwith the balance of the rental due for the first year, within the timespecified, the lease shall be awarded automatically to the applicant offeringto pay the highest annual rental, or in the event of even offers, shall bedisposed of as hereinbefore provided.
36-5-109. When rental due; procedure upon failure to pay.
Uponnotice provided not less than thirty (30) days prior to the anniversary date ofa lease, all rentals accruing to the state by virtue of this act, except thosefor the first year, shall become due and payable at the office of the directoron the anniversary date of the lease. If the rent is not paid on theanniversary date, the director shall notify the lessee or his authorized agentby certified mail that the lease will be cancelled if the rent and a late feeequal 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, thedirector shall as soon as possible thereafter, advertise the lands in thecounty where located, as vacant and subject to lease.
36-5-110. Right to make and remove improvements.
Alessee of state lands shall have the right to construct or make improvementsupon 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 desiresto construct or make improvements upon state lands in excess of the value oftwo thousand dollars ($2,000.00) per section, he shall file an application forpermission to construct or make the improvements with the director, which shallbe subject to allowance or rejection as the best interests of the staterequire. The director shall have authority to grant permission to constructimprovements in excess of two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) for fencing, waterdevelopment, livestock handling facilities and range enhancements. Any other improvementin excess of two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) shall be applied for under aspecial use permit. Unless permission has been obtained in the manner providedby this section, the owner of the improvements in excess of the value of twothousand dollars ($2,000.00) per section shall not be entitled to compensationtherefor as provided by W.S. 36-5-111 and 36-9-105, and upon the expiration ofthe lease the improvements shall forfeit to and become the property of thestate; except, that within one hundred twenty (120) days from the date of theexpiration of the lease, the owner may remove such improvements in a mannerwhich minimizes injury to the land.
36-5-111. Payment for or removal of existing improvements.
Anyapplicant applying to lease state lands upon which there are fences, buildings,reservoirs, ditches, dams, wells, or other improvements of any kind, belongingto or made by another, or for which water rights or proportionate interests inirrigation reservoirs, canals, or systems, have been acquired, shall beforereceiving the lease, pay to the director for the use and benefit of the owneror maker of any improvements at the time of the execution of the lease, thecontributory value thereof as finally determined by the board in accordancewith its rules and regulations; or the owner of the improvements shall, upongiving notice to the director in writing within the time fixed by board ruleand regulation, have the right to remove those improvements in a manner whichminimizes injury to the land; provided, that the improvements be removed withina period of one hundred twenty (120) days from the date of the expiration ofthe lease. For purposes of this section, "contributory value" meansthe increased value of the property after the lessee's improvements areconsidered.
36-5-112. Form and execution of lease; bond.
Thegeneral form of grazing and agricultural lease upon state lands shall beprescribed 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 withoutbond.
36-5-113. Cancellation of leases.
Theboard shall have the power and authority to cancel leases procured by fraud,deceit or misrepresentation, or for use of the lands for unlawful or illegalpurposes, or for the violation of the covenants of the lease, upon proper proofthereof.
36-5-114. Leasing for industrial, commercial and recreationalpurposes; authority; rental fees; rules and regulations.
(a) The board of land commissioners may lease for a term of notmore than seventy-five (75) years state lands for industrial, commercial andrecreational purposes.
(b) The board may lease state lands for purposes which shallbring about the compatible use of the surface area and shall inure to thegreatest long term benefit of the state land trust. Provided, however, thatnothing herein contained shall result in the substantive impairment of existingleases or the preferential right to the renewal thereof.
(c) The board shall fix a rental value based upon not less thanthe fair market value of each use of the land. If the land to be leased underthis subsection was originally acquired by the state for the benefit of thecommon school permanent land fund, and is to be used by a Wyoming schooldistrict for the construction and maintenance of school buildings andfacilities, 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 regulationsimplementing policies, procedures and standards for the long-term leasing ofstate lands for industrial, commercial and recreational purposes under theprovisions of W.S. 36-5-114 through 36-5-117, including provisions requiringcompliance with all applicable land use planning and zoning laws and permittingthe board to terminate a lease for good cause shown.
36-5-115. Leasing for industrial, commercial and recreationalpurposes; "recreational purposes" defined.
Asused in W.S. 36-5-114 through 36-5-117 the term "recreationalpurposes" means land used for cabin sites, public camp sites, public parksand 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 recreationalpurposes; assignment or transfer.
Leasesissued under the provisions of W.S. 36-5-114 through 36-5-117 shall not beassignable or transferable except with written consent of the board of landcommissioners.
36-5-117. Lessee's liability.
Astate lands lessee's liability to users of those lands is limited as specifiedin W.S. 34-19-101 through 34-19-106.
36-5-101. Qualifications of lessees; lease terms; rental.
(a) No person shall be qualified to lease state lands unlessthat person has reached the age of majority, and is a citizen of the UnitedStates, 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 orit has complied with the laws of this state and is authorized to transactbusiness in this state.
(b) The rental of any lease awarded shall be based on aneconomic analysis and shall reflect at least the fair market value for the sameor similar use of the land based upon a formula adopted by the board using thefollowing criteria:
(i) Readily available data averaged over an adequate number ofyears to remove any radical fluctuations;
(ii) Factors which reasonably reflect the true market value ofstate leases;
(iii) Parameters within which the board can be responsive tochanging resource conditions, market demand and industry viability;
(iv) Factors which reasonably reflect the contributions made bythe lessee.
36-5-102. Maximum term of agricultural or grazing lease.
Nolease for agricultural or grazing purposes shall be issued for a term of morethan ten (10) years.
36-5-103. Application for lease; cancellation of application.
Anyperson, firm, association or corporation desiring to lease state lands foragricultural and grazing purposes shall file with the director an applicationon the form approved by the board, which must be accompanied by the regularfiling fee, and a certified check, bank draft, cashier's check, post office orexpress money order, cash or personal check acceptable to the director for thefull amount of the first year's rental offered; and if there are improvementsowned by another located upon said lands, the applicant must also transmit inthe manner above provided, the estimated amount of the value of the improvementsas 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 andregulations of the board, after having been given thirty (30) days notice byregistered mail, the application shall be cancelled and the sum remitted asrentals and twenty-five percent (25%) of the sum remitted for improvementsshall be retained by the board as liquidated damages; and the sum paid asrental shall be paid by the director to the state treasurer and credited by himto the proper permanent land income fund account, and the sum paid forimprovements shall be credited to the general fund.
36-5-104. Time for filing renewal applications.
Allapplications to lease grazing and agricultural lands under outstanding leasesmust be filed in the office of state lands and investments not earlier than onehundred twenty (120) days prior to, and not later than thirty (30) days priorto the expiration date of the existing lease. Any conflicting application tolease grazing and agricultural lands under any existing lease shall be filed inthe 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 theexpiration date of the existing lease. Upon receipt of a conflicting leaseapplication the office of state lands and investments shall notify the currentlessee that a conflicting lease application has been received and shall providethe current lessee not less than thirty (30) days from receipt of notice tofile a lease renewal application.
36-5-105. Criteria for leasing; preferences; assignments, subleases orcontracts; lands taken for war purposes; mineral lands excepted; agriculturallands.
(a) All state lands leased by the state board of landcommissioners, for grazing and other agricultural purposes shall be leased insuch manner and to such parties as shall inure to the greatest benefit to thestate land trust beneficiaries.
(b) In leasing vacant lands, preference shall in all cases begiven to applicants who are bona fide resident citizens of the state qualifiedunder the provisions of W.S. 36-5-101, and to persons or legal entities authorizedto transact business in the state, having actual and necessary use for the landand who are the owners, lessees or lawful occupants of adjoining lands, whooffer to pay an annual rental at not less than fair market value, as determinedby the economic analysis pursuant to W.S. 36-5-101(b), for the use of theforage 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, andhas 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 preferredright to renew such lease by meeting the highest bid offered by anotherqualified applicant who has actual and necessary use for the land and availableforage and whose bid is not less than the minimum fair market value asdetermined by the board for the same or a similar use of land using the formuladeveloped pursuant to W.S. 36-5-101(b) and not more than one hundred twentypercent (120%) of the maximum fair market value as determined by the boardbased on the previous year's values for the state, district or county,whichever is most localized and available, as determined by the nationalagricultural statistics service utilizing:
(i) The private land lease rate per animal unit month forWyoming grazing leases; or
(ii) The private land irrigated or nonirrigated cropland leaserate, as applicable, for Wyoming cropland leases on irrigated or nonirrigatedcropland; and
(iii) A downward adjustment of twenty percent (20%) to reasonablyreflect lessee contributions typically provided as a part of a private landgrazing lease rate or a private cropland lease rate, as applicable.
(d) If the lessee of state lands shall assign, sublease or contractall or any part of the lease area, the lease shall be subject to cancellationunless such assignment or sublease or contract is approved by the director,subject to criteria established by the board of land commissioners; however, nosuch approval shall be arbitrarily or unreasonably withheld and all action uponeach application therefor, shall be such as will inure to the greatest benefitto the state land trust beneficiaries, provided, that in no event shall thelands be subleased unless one-half (1/2) of the excess rental is paid to thestate.
(e) Repealed By Laws 2007, Ch. 111, 2.
(f) Provided further, that whenever any state owned lands havebeen or may hereafter be condemned or acquired by the United States for warpurposes and whenever said lands may hereafter be reconveyed to the state ofWyoming by the said United States or any department thereof, then in such eventthe state board of land commissioners shall give preference to the lesseeholding said lands at the time of the taking of said lands by the said UnitedStates or any department thereof.
(g) Provided further, that this act shall not be applicable tothe leasing of state mineral lands under the provisions of W.S. 36-6-101through 36-6-105, as amended.
36-5-106. Richard Bridge historical park.
Thestate board of land commissioners is hereby authorized and empowered, if afterinvestigation and study the board deems it to the best interest of the state ofWyoming, 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 thecenterline of the North Platte River in section 36, township 34 north, range 79west of the sixth principal meridian, Natrona county, Wyoming. The lease authorizedherein shall contain a clause restricting the use of the leased property tohistorical landmark, park, recreation, museum and municipal purposes. The landleased shall be known as Richard Bridge historical park.
36-5-107. Preference in granting leases on exchanged lands.
Theholder of a lease of any school, state or institutional land that is offeredfor exchange under section 8, of the Taylor Grazing Act, shall have preferenceto lease the land received in such exchange.
36-5-108. Even rental offers.
Iftwo (2) or more qualified applicants shall offer the same annual rental for thesame lands, and such offers are the highest offers received and are equal to orabove the minimum rental fixed by the board, and no preference exists in theold lessee, or if such old lessee does not exercise such preference, thedirector shall grant the lease to the applicant holding title to lands nearestto the lands applied for. When a preference exists in the old lessee under theprovisions of this act, he shall be given fifteen (15) days notice byregistered mail, and if he fails or refuses to file his acceptance togetherwith the balance of the rental due for the first year, within the timespecified, the lease shall be awarded automatically to the applicant offeringto pay the highest annual rental, or in the event of even offers, shall bedisposed of as hereinbefore provided.
36-5-109. When rental due; procedure upon failure to pay.
Uponnotice provided not less than thirty (30) days prior to the anniversary date ofa lease, all rentals accruing to the state by virtue of this act, except thosefor the first year, shall become due and payable at the office of the directoron the anniversary date of the lease. If the rent is not paid on theanniversary date, the director shall notify the lessee or his authorized agentby certified mail that the lease will be cancelled if the rent and a late feeequal 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, thedirector shall as soon as possible thereafter, advertise the lands in thecounty where located, as vacant and subject to lease.
36-5-110. Right to make and remove improvements.
Alessee of state lands shall have the right to construct or make improvementsupon 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 desiresto construct or make improvements upon state lands in excess of the value oftwo thousand dollars ($2,000.00) per section, he shall file an application forpermission to construct or make the improvements with the director, which shallbe subject to allowance or rejection as the best interests of the staterequire. The director shall have authority to grant permission to constructimprovements in excess of two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) for fencing, waterdevelopment, livestock handling facilities and range enhancements. Any other improvementin excess of two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) shall be applied for under aspecial use permit. Unless permission has been obtained in the manner providedby this section, the owner of the improvements in excess of the value of twothousand dollars ($2,000.00) per section shall not be entitled to compensationtherefor as provided by W.S. 36-5-111 and 36-9-105, and upon the expiration ofthe lease the improvements shall forfeit to and become the property of thestate; except, that within one hundred twenty (120) days from the date of theexpiration of the lease, the owner may remove such improvements in a mannerwhich minimizes injury to the land.
36-5-111. Payment for or removal of existing improvements.
Anyapplicant applying to lease state lands upon which there are fences, buildings,reservoirs, ditches, dams, wells, or other improvements of any kind, belongingto or made by another, or for which water rights or proportionate interests inirrigation reservoirs, canals, or systems, have been acquired, shall beforereceiving the lease, pay to the director for the use and benefit of the owneror maker of any improvements at the time of the execution of the lease, thecontributory value thereof as finally determined by the board in accordancewith its rules and regulations; or the owner of the improvements shall, upongiving notice to the director in writing within the time fixed by board ruleand regulation, have the right to remove those improvements in a manner whichminimizes injury to the land; provided, that the improvements be removed withina period of one hundred twenty (120) days from the date of the expiration ofthe lease. For purposes of this section, "contributory value" meansthe increased value of the property after the lessee's improvements areconsidered.
36-5-112. Form and execution of lease; bond.
Thegeneral form of grazing and agricultural lease upon state lands shall beprescribed 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 withoutbond.
36-5-113. Cancellation of leases.
Theboard shall have the power and authority to cancel leases procured by fraud,deceit or misrepresentation, or for use of the lands for unlawful or illegalpurposes, or for the violation of the covenants of the lease, upon proper proofthereof.
36-5-114. Leasing for industrial, commercial and recreationalpurposes; authority; rental fees; rules and regulations.
(a) The board of land commissioners may lease for a term of notmore than seventy-five (75) years state lands for industrial, commercial andrecreational purposes.
(b) The board may lease state lands for purposes which shallbring about the compatible use of the surface area and shall inure to thegreatest long term benefit of the state land trust. Provided, however, thatnothing herein contained shall result in the substantive impairment of existingleases or the preferential right to the renewal thereof.
(c) The board shall fix a rental value based upon not less thanthe fair market value of each use of the land. If the land to be leased underthis subsection was originally acquired by the state for the benefit of thecommon school permanent land fund, and is to be used by a Wyoming schooldistrict for the construction and maintenance of school buildings andfacilities, 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 regulationsimplementing policies, procedures and standards for the long-term leasing ofstate lands for industrial, commercial and recreational purposes under theprovisions of W.S. 36-5-114 through 36-5-117, including provisions requiringcompliance with all applicable land use planning and zoning laws and permittingthe board to terminate a lease for good cause shown.
36-5-115. Leasing for industrial, commercial and recreationalpurposes; "recreational purposes" defined.
Asused in W.S. 36-5-114 through 36-5-117 the term "recreationalpurposes" means land used for cabin sites, public camp sites, public parksand 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 recreationalpurposes; assignment or transfer.
Leasesissued under the provisions of W.S. 36-5-114 through 36-5-117 shall not beassignable or transferable except with written consent of the board of landcommissioners.
36-5-117. Lessee's liability.
Astate lands lessee's liability to users of those lands is limited as specifiedin W.S. 34-19-101 through 34-19-106.
36-5-101. Qualifications of lessees; lease terms; rental.
(a) No person shall be qualified to lease state lands unlessthat person has reached the age of majority, and is a citizen of the UnitedStates, 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 orit has complied with the laws of this state and is authorized to transactbusiness in this state.
(b) The rental of any lease awarded shall be based on aneconomic analysis and shall reflect at least the fair market value for the sameor similar use of the land based upon a formula adopted by the board using thefollowing criteria:
(i) Readily available data averaged over an adequate number ofyears to remove any radical fluctuations;
(ii) Factors which reasonably reflect the true market value ofstate leases;
(iii) Parameters within which the board can be responsive tochanging resource conditions, market demand and industry viability;
(iv) Factors which reasonably reflect the contributions made bythe lessee.
36-5-102. Maximum term of agricultural or grazing lease.
Nolease for agricultural or grazing purposes shall be issued for a term of morethan ten (10) years.
36-5-103. Application for lease; cancellation of application.
Anyperson, firm, association or corporation desiring to lease state lands foragricultural and grazing purposes shall file with the director an applicationon the form approved by the board, which must be accompanied by the regularfiling fee, and a certified check, bank draft, cashier's check, post office orexpress money order, cash or personal check acceptable to the director for thefull amount of the first year's rental offered; and if there are improvementsowned by another located upon said lands, the applicant must also transmit inthe manner above provided, the estimated amount of the value of the improvementsas 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 andregulations of the board, after having been given thirty (30) days notice byregistered mail, the application shall be cancelled and the sum remitted asrentals and twenty-five percent (25%) of the sum remitted for improvementsshall be retained by the board as liquidated damages; and the sum paid asrental shall be paid by the director to the state treasurer and credited by himto the proper permanent land income fund account, and the sum paid forimprovements shall be credited to the general fund.
36-5-104. Time for filing renewal applications.
Allapplications to lease grazing and agricultural lands under outstanding leasesmust be filed in the office of state lands and investments not earlier than onehundred twenty (120) days prior to, and not later than thirty (30) days priorto the expiration date of the existing lease. Any conflicting application tolease grazing and agricultural lands under any existing lease shall be filed inthe 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 theexpiration date of the existing lease. Upon receipt of a conflicting leaseapplication the office of state lands and investments shall notify the currentlessee that a conflicting lease application has been received and shall providethe current lessee not less than thirty (30) days from receipt of notice tofile a lease renewal application.
36-5-105. Criteria for leasing; preferences; assignments, subleases orcontracts; lands taken for war purposes; mineral lands excepted; agriculturallands.
(a) All state lands leased by the state board of landcommissioners, for grazing and other agricultural purposes shall be leased insuch manner and to such parties as shall inure to the greatest benefit to thestate land trust beneficiaries.
(b) In leasing vacant lands, preference shall in all cases begiven to applicants who are bona fide resident citizens of the state qualifiedunder the provisions of W.S. 36-5-101, and to persons or legal entities authorizedto transact business in the state, having actual and necessary use for the landand who are the owners, lessees or lawful occupants of adjoining lands, whooffer to pay an annual rental at not less than fair market value, as determinedby the economic analysis pursuant to W.S. 36-5-101(b), for the use of theforage 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, andhas 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 preferredright to renew such lease by meeting the highest bid offered by anotherqualified applicant who has actual and necessary use for the land and availableforage and whose bid is not less than the minimum fair market value asdetermined by the board for the same or a similar use of land using the formuladeveloped pursuant to W.S. 36-5-101(b) and not more than one hundred twentypercent (120%) of the maximum fair market value as determined by the boardbased on the previous year's values for the state, district or county,whichever is most localized and available, as determined by the nationalagricultural statistics service utilizing:
(i) The private land lease rate per animal unit month forWyoming grazing leases; or
(ii) The private land irrigated or nonirrigated cropland leaserate, as applicable, for Wyoming cropland leases on irrigated or nonirrigatedcropland; and
(iii) A downward adjustment of twenty percent (20%) to reasonablyreflect lessee contributions typically provided as a part of a private landgrazing lease rate or a private cropland lease rate, as applicable.
(d) If the lessee of state lands shall assign, sublease or contractall or any part of the lease area, the lease shall be subject to cancellationunless such assignment or sublease or contract is approved by the director,subject to criteria established by the board of land commissioners; however, nosuch approval shall be arbitrarily or unreasonably withheld and all action uponeach application therefor, shall be such as will inure to the greatest benefitto the state land trust beneficiaries, provided, that in no event shall thelands be subleased unless one-half (1/2) of the excess rental is paid to thestate.
(e) Repealed By Laws 2007, Ch. 111, 2.
(f) Provided further, that whenever any state owned lands havebeen or may hereafter be condemned or acquired by the United States for warpurposes and whenever said lands may hereafter be reconveyed to the state ofWyoming by the said United States or any department thereof, then in such eventthe state board of land commissioners shall give preference to the lesseeholding said lands at the time of the taking of said lands by the said UnitedStates or any department thereof.
(g) Provided further, that this act shall not be applicable tothe leasing of state mineral lands under the provisions of W.S. 36-6-101through 36-6-105, as amended.
36-5-106. Richard Bridge historical park.
Thestate board of land commissioners is hereby authorized and empowered, if afterinvestigation and study the board deems it to the best interest of the state ofWyoming, 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 thecenterline of the North Platte River in section 36, township 34 north, range 79west of the sixth principal meridian, Natrona county, Wyoming. The lease authorizedherein shall contain a clause restricting the use of the leased property tohistorical landmark, park, recreation, museum and municipal purposes. The landleased shall be known as Richard Bridge historical park.
36-5-107. Preference in granting leases on exchanged lands.
Theholder of a lease of any school, state or institutional land that is offeredfor exchange under section 8, of the Taylor Grazing Act, shall have preferenceto lease the land received in such exchange.
36-5-108. Even rental offers.
Iftwo (2) or more qualified applicants shall offer the same annual rental for thesame lands, and such offers are the highest offers received and are equal to orabove the minimum rental fixed by the board, and no preference exists in theold lessee, or if such old lessee does not exercise such preference, thedirector shall grant the lease to the applicant holding title to lands nearestto the lands applied for. When a preference exists in the old lessee under theprovisions of this act, he shall be given fifteen (15) days notice byregistered mail, and if he fails or refuses to file his acceptance togetherwith the balance of the rental due for the first year, within the timespecified, the lease shall be awarded automatically to the applicant offeringto pay the highest annual rental, or in the event of even offers, shall bedisposed of as hereinbefore provided.
36-5-109. When rental due; procedure upon failure to pay.
Uponnotice provided not less than thirty (30) days prior to the anniversary date ofa lease, all rentals accruing to the state by virtue of this act, except thosefor the first year, shall become due and payable at the office of the directoron the anniversary date of the lease. If the rent is not paid on theanniversary date, the director shall notify the lessee or his authorized agentby certified mail that the lease will be cancelled if the rent and a late feeequal 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, thedirector shall as soon as possible thereafter, advertise the lands in thecounty where located, as vacant and subject to lease.
36-5-110. Right to make and remove improvements.
Alessee of state lands shall have the right to construct or make improvementsupon 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 desiresto construct or make improvements upon state lands in excess of the value oftwo thousand dollars ($2,000.00) per section, he shall file an application forpermission to construct or make the improvements with the director, which shallbe subject to allowance or rejection as the best interests of the staterequire. The director shall have authority to grant permission to constructimprovements in excess of two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) for fencing, waterdevelopment, livestock handling facilities and range enhancements. Any other improvementin excess of two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) shall be applied for under aspecial use permit. Unless permission has been obtained in the manner providedby this section, the owner of the improvements in excess of the value of twothousand dollars ($2,000.00) per section shall not be entitled to compensationtherefor as provided by W.S. 36-5-111 and 36-9-105, and upon the expiration ofthe lease the improvements shall forfeit to and become the property of thestate; except, that within one hundred twenty (120) days from the date of theexpiration of the lease, the owner may remove such improvements in a mannerwhich minimizes injury to the land.
36-5-111. Payment for or removal of existing improvements.
Anyapplicant applying to lease state lands upon which there are fences, buildings,reservoirs, ditches, dams, wells, or other improvements of any kind, belongingto or made by another, or for which water rights or proportionate interests inirrigation reservoirs, canals, or systems, have been acquired, shall beforereceiving the lease, pay to the director for the use and benefit of the owneror maker of any improvements at the time of the execution of the lease, thecontributory value thereof as finally determined by the board in accordancewith its rules and regulations; or the owner of the improvements shall, upongiving notice to the director in writing within the time fixed by board ruleand regulation, have the right to remove those improvements in a manner whichminimizes injury to the land; provided, that the improvements be removed withina period of one hundred twenty (120) days from the date of the expiration ofthe lease. For purposes of this section, "contributory value" meansthe increased value of the property after the lessee's improvements areconsidered.
36-5-112. Form and execution of lease; bond.
Thegeneral form of grazing and agricultural lease upon state lands shall beprescribed 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 withoutbond.
36-5-113. Cancellation of leases.
Theboard shall have the power and authority to cancel leases procured by fraud,deceit or misrepresentation, or for use of the lands for unlawful or illegalpurposes, or for the violation of the covenants of the lease, upon proper proofthereof.
36-5-114. Leasing for industrial, commercial and recreationalpurposes; authority; rental fees; rules and regulations.
(a) The board of land commissioners may lease for a term of notmore than seventy-five (75) years state lands for industrial, commercial andrecreational purposes.
(b) The board may lease state lands for purposes which shallbring about the compatible use of the surface area and shall inure to thegreatest long term benefit of the state land trust. Provided, however, thatnothing herein contained shall result in the substantive impairment of existingleases or the preferential right to the renewal thereof.
(c) The board shall fix a rental value based upon not less thanthe fair market value of each use of the land. If the land to be leased underthis subsection was originally acquired by the state for the benefit of thecommon school permanent land fund, and is to be used by a Wyoming schooldistrict for the construction and maintenance of school buildings andfacilities, 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 regulationsimplementing policies, procedures and standards for the long-term leasing ofstate lands for industrial, commercial and recreational purposes under theprovisions of W.S. 36-5-114 through 36-5-117, including provisions requiringcompliance with all applicable land use planning and zoning laws and permittingthe board to terminate a lease for good cause shown.
36-5-115. Leasing for industrial, commercial and recreationalpurposes; "recreational purposes" defined.
Asused in W.S. 36-5-114 through 36-5-117 the term "recreationalpurposes" means land used for cabin sites, public camp sites, public parksand 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 recreationalpurposes; assignment or transfer.
Leasesissued under the provisions of W.S. 36-5-114 through 36-5-117 shall not beassignable or transferable except with written consent of the board of landcommissioners.
36-5-117. Lessee's liability.
Astate lands lessee's liability to users of those lands is limited as specifiedin W.S. 34-19-101 through 34-19-106.
