Teton commissioners flag BLM Parcel 9/10 MOU talks with 4W Ranch

Teton County commissioners did not vote March 9 on a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Memorandum of Understanding with 4W Ranch, but they did explicitly tee up the subject as a “known matter for discussion” — “BLM 9/10 Memorandum of Understanding with 4W Ranch: Right of Way and Management Agreement” — signaling the issue remains active in the county’s BLM Parcel 9/10 negotiations. See the agenda language in the Board of County Commissioners Voucher Meeting Agenda (March 9, 2026).

The underlying policy question is how (and on what terms) the county might secure a Highway 22 corridor right-of-way for a separated bike pathway — potentially on 4W Ranch land — while also addressing grazing and day-to-day management for BLM Parcel 9/10, a roughly 354-acre river parcel near Emily Stevens Park that has been a sticking point in the broader disposal/transfer of scattered BLM river parcels. County staff described the concept in a prior workshop packet as pairing continued grazing on Parcel 9/10 with a pathway easement along Hwy. 22. Staff Report for BLM Parcel 9/10 Workshop (Feb. 24, 2025).

That 2025 staff report also summarizes a 4W Ranch proposal (submitted by attorney Stefan Fodor) that envisioned congressional action to transfer about 354 acres of Parcel 9/10 to Teton County with both a conservation easement and a management agreement, while allowing 4W to purchase about 23 acres at the north end of the parcel. In exchange, the proposal contemplated 4W conveying 3.34 acres along Highway 22 to the county for a bike path and powerline burial, with other groups floating alternative land-transfer concepts. Staff Report for BLM Parcel 9/10 Workshop (Feb. 24, 2025).