Director of the Office of State Lands and Investments

Wyo. Stat. Ann. tit. 36, ch. 3
in effect

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 36-3-101 Appointment; term; salary; removal.

(a) There shall be a director of the office of state lands and investments, who shall be appointed by the governor by and with the consent of the state senate. The term of his office shall expire at the end of the term of office of the governor during which he was appointed, unless sooner removed. He shall receive an annual salary as provided by law, to be paid monthly by the state treasurer on the warrant of the state auditor. The governor may remove the director as provided in W.S. 9-1-202. (b) Effective July 1, 1979, appointments and terms under this section shall be in accordance with W.S. 28-12-101 through 28-12-103.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 36-3-102 Duties generally.

(a) The director shall keep the records of the board of land commissioners, and be the secretary thereof. He shall make out and countersign all patents, contracts or other instruments issued by him to purchasers and others, and make out and sign all leases. He shall keep a record of all such leases, patents or other instruments in books or other records. He shall file and preserve in his office all bonds, contracts, leases, and other instruments given by lessees, purchasers and others. He shall have the custody of the seal of the board, and shall keep the minutes of the proceedings thereof, and shall perform such other duties concerning the business transactions of the board as it may direct. He shall receive all applications for purchasing, leasing, entering, locating or in any manner acquiring title to, interest in, or any benefit from or use of any lands belonging to or under the control of the state of Wyoming, and he shall allow or disallow, subject to the approval of the board of land commissioners, such applications to purchase, lease, enter or otherwise acquire title to, interest in, benefit from or use of the lands, or the appurtenances thereof, and in all cases where there have been no conflicting applications, he shall report his decisions to the board for its approval at its next ensuing regular or special meeting, but in all cases where there have been conflicting applications to lease or otherwise acquire interests or benefits in the lands, he shall, before reporting his decisions to the board, give each of the applicants notice of what his decision is with reference to their applications, and if none of the applicants files an appeal in writing from the decisions of the director to the board within a period of thirty (30) days, except in the case of oil and gas leases when the period shall be not less than ten (10) days nor more than thirty (30) days at the discretion of the board, after the date of the notice, the director shall report his decision to the board for approval at its next meeting and in case an appeal in writing is taken from the decision of the director to the board of land commissioners within the time provided, the director shall give each of the applicants at least ten (10) days' notice, except in the case of oil and gas leases when the period shall be five (5) days' notice in writing of the date on which the appeal will be heard by the board. The director shall keep on file in his office the original of all documents filed as required by W.S. 36-1-102. He shall insure that these documents are properly indexed for reasonable public access, and to show ownership by each state commission, institution, department or board. (b) Upon application and the annual payment of fifteen dollars ($15.00) by any person qualified to lease oil and gas lands of the state of Wyoming, the director shall place the name and address of the person on a mailing list and mail to the person a complete list of lands open for filing prior to the date when the lands become subject to filing. The payments shall be placed in the general fund. (c) The board shall have authority to override any decision made by the director. Upon such terms and conditions as shall be established by the board, in addition to other powers enumerated in this section, the director shall have authority to: (i) Issue all standard lease and permit renewals which do not convey any permanent interest in state lands; (ii) Approve lease assignments, sublease agreements and surface damage payments, and concur in water right petitions involving state lands; (iii) Approve applications to construct improvements within criteria established by the board pursuant to W.S. 36-5-110(a) and 36-5-111; (iv) Approve timber sale auctions within criteria established by the board pursuant to W.S. 36-1-112; (v) Approve acreage adjustments, suspension of operations and unit or communitization agreements under W.S. 36-6-101; (vi) Determine, subject to approval of the board, the best use for acquired institutional lands managed by the board pursuant to W.S. 9-2-2005, 9-2-2006 and 9-2-2012 consistent with: (A) Consideration of the needs of the institution; (B) Consideration of alternative uses of the property which are compatible with the mission of the institution; and (C) Limitations contained in the constitution of the state of Wyoming, state and federal law and the conveyance instrument. (d) For any lands belonging to the state of Wyoming and under the control of the board of land commissioners, the director shall coordinate with the department of agriculture regarding weed and pest control needs and control efforts, which the department of agriculture shall manage pursuant to the Wyoming Weed and Pest Control Act.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 36-3-103 Selection and location of lands.

The director shall select and locate all lands which are now or may be hereafter granted to the state of Wyoming by the United States for any purpose whatever.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 36-3-104 Notice of selection.

Before any selection of lands granted to the state is made, it shall be the duty of the director to publish in at least one (1) newspaper of general circulation in each county in the state a notice giving the area of the said lands so to be selected, and the time on or about when the director will receive applications for and begin the selection of said lands, and before any lands so selected shall be leased, sold or otherwise disposed of, a description of such lands together with the name of the person for whom selected, shall be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in each county wherein said lands are located, and such lands shall thereafter be sold, leased or otherwise disposed of in the same manner and under the same restrictions as provided by law for the disposition of other state lands.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 36-3-105 Annual report.

On or before the 10th day of December, immediately preceding the meeting of the legislature, the director shall make a report of the business of his office, the transactions of the board of land commissioners, and the condition of the land affairs of the state, showing by tables the land belonging to the several funds of the state, to whom sold, leased or otherwise disposed of, the receipts from all sources, the condition of the conditional grants made to the state under the provisions of section 4 of an act of congress entitled "An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses, approved August 18th, A.D. 1894", and acts amendatory thereof, including in his said report a comprehensive statement of the development and progress made by corporations or individuals reclaiming land under the provisions of said acts of congress, and of chapter 15, title 9, div. 1, Wyoming Revised Statutes of 1899 and showing in said report any and all facts or statistics concerning the lands of the state of Wyoming that will exhibit the condition of the said state lands.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 36-3-106 Arid land fund.

As provided in the said acts of congress, all moneys collected by the director from the sale of lands selected under the provisions of such acts of congress shall be deposited by the director with the state treasurer, and shall constitute a trust fund in the hands of said treasurer to be used only for the reclamation of other arid lands when appropriated by the legislature for that purpose in the manner that other appropriations are made.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 36-3-107 Oaths; acknowledgments of written instruments; depositions.

The director is hereby authorized to administer oaths and affirmations, to receive acknowledgments of powers of attorney and other instruments in writing, and to take depositions in matters relating to state, school, or arid land business, within the state of Wyoming.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 36-3-108 Official seal.

The director shall provide himself with an official seal with which he shall authenticate such official acts as are not performed as secretary of the board of land commissioners, which seal shall be engraved with his official title and the word "Wyoming."

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 36-3-109 Disposal of slash on timber lands; forestry performance account.

(a) The state forester shall provide for the disposal of any slash resulting from the harvest of forest products and may require forest management work through a forest product sales contract or a service contract. The state forester may, when deemed necessary, require a slash deposit or performance bond to cover the anticipated cost of any slash disposal or required management work as a guarantee of compliance with contract specifications. (b) When any slash is not disposed of or management work is not completed in accordance with the requirements of the forest products sales contract or service contract, the state forester may go upon the premises with such personnel, equipment and supplies as may be necessary to burn or otherwise dispose of the slash or complete a required management project. The expense incurred in disposing of the slash or completing the required management project, shall be a charge against the posted performance bond or slash deposit. (c) Repealed By Laws 1999, ch. 124, § 2. (d) There is created the revolving forestry performance account in which any performance bond or slash deposit shall be deposited, and from which any expense incurred in the completion of slash disposal or another contract requirement not complying with forest products sale or service contract specifications shall be paid. The funds in the account are continuously appropriated to the state forester for the purposes of this section. Upon successful completion of required slash disposal or other contract requirements, as determined and approved by the state forester, the performance bond or slash deposit shall be refunded to the purchaser or contractor. If required slash disposal or other contract requirements are partially completed, the expense of completing the required work shall be charged against the forestry performance account with the balance of the performance bond or slash deposit, if any, refunded to the purchaser or contractor.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 36-3-110 Fees.

(a) The board shall determine by rule and regulation, and the director shall collect fees for the following administrative services: (i) For filing each application to lease; (ii) For filing each application for easement; (iii) For filing each assignment of lease; (iv) For filing each application for timber or forest product contract; (v) For filing each notice of security interest; (vi) For filing each change of name; (vii) For filing each unit or communitization agreement; (viii) For filing each application for a fossil permit; (ix) For filing each application for a temporary use permit; (x) For filing each surface estate sale nomination; (xi) For each insufficient fund check returned. (b) The board shall determine the fees to be collected under subsection (a) of this section in an amount which approximates, but does not exceed, the direct and indirect costs of administering the regulatory provisions of this act. The office of state lands and investments shall be entitled to retain that portion of the fees collected which represent the cost of county filing and recording. All of the remaining money collected for fees shall be paid to the treasurer of the state monthly and shall be credited to the general fund.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 36-3-111 Appointment of deputy; compensation.

The director may appoint a deputy to perform the duties of his office and to hold such appointment at the will of the director. The annual compensation of such deputy shall be as determined by the human resources division of the department of administration and information, payable monthly, upon vouchers submitted in proper form to the state auditor, and in manner that other accounts against the state are paid, and shall receive no other compensation for any services rendered by him to the state.
Source: Public.Resource.Org WY StatutesURL: https://unicourt.github.io/cic-code-wy/transforms/wy/ocwy/r78/gov.wy.code.title.36.htmlFetched: 6/28/2026