County Roadblocks Tip the Scales: Wyoming Land Board Nixes Casper Mountain Gravel Pit Extension

A local zoning squeeze just toppled a state-approved mining plan on the edge of Casper Mountain. In a 3–2 vote, the Wyoming State Board of Land Commissioners on Thursday rejected lease extensions for Prism Logistics’ last two “school trust” parcels at the mountain’s base, effectively pulling the plug — at least for now — on a gravel pit that had stirred months of outrage in Natrona County.

The decision caps a rapid reversal for Prism. The company picked up eight state leases in 2023, then ran headlong into neighborhood opposition once the plan surfaced in 2024. A new grassroots group, the Casper Mountain Preservation Alliance, gathered more than 20,000 signatures while reminding officials that the mountain is a community playground for hikers, cyclists and skiers, not a freight corridor. Co-founder Carolyn Griffith called the board’s action “a big relief,” adding that the group isn’t anti-mining, just opposed to putting a pit in the middle of a neighborhood and recreation hub.

What changed wasn’t only public sentiment. After the state issued the leases, Natrona County banned heavy trucks on several roads, including Coates Road — the lone route Prism planned to use — and rewrote zoning to prohibit mining in the area. Secretary of State Chuck Gray leaned hard on those facts in his motion to deny, arguing that the road and zoning restrictions make it impossible for Prism to secure other required permissions and therefore undermine the state’s fiduciary duty to manage trust lands for revenue. He also warned that digging next to a rural subdivision dependent on a shallow aquifer risked harming private property rights.

Governor Mark Gordon and Treasurer Curt Meier dissented, saying the fight had turned too political for a board that’s supposed to follow a regulatory playbook. Meier suggested locals explore turning the parcels into recreation or even a state park — an idea preservation advocates have already begun floating — while letting agencies handle the permitting process on its merits. The rest of the five-member board — Superintendent Megan Degenfelder and Auditor Kristi Racines joining Gray — sided with denial. The same majority had knocked back extensions on Prism’s six other leases in June, so Thursday’s vote wipes the slate clean.

The clash has become a test case for who calls the shots on Wyoming’s state trust lands. Set aside at statehood to fund public schools, these scattered “school sections” are managed to generate revenue, often through grazing and industrial leases. In April, the Wyoming Supreme Court affirmed that county land-use rules don’t bind state boards or their permittees on state parcels, a ruling that grew out of a separate fight in Teton County over a glamping project. Prism’s manager, Kyle True, pointed to that precedent while blasting what he called a politicized backlash. He told the board his company did its homework, filed for a limited mining exemption with another state agency, and deserves extensions based on the rules — not a popularity contest.

“What we’re dealing with is a veritable tempest in a teapot,” he said, arguing opponents don’t understand the industry.

Even with Thursday’s setback, the courtroom battles aren’t over. Prism is asking a judge to overturn Natrona County’s post-lease zoning and safety ordinances and has separately petitioned for review of the board’s June denial, calling it contrary to law because, in Prism’s view, the company met the criteria for an extension. Both cases are pending, and the state-versus-local tug-of-war they raise isn’t going away.

For now, the immediate outcome is simple. Prism’s gravel pit has no path forward on state land at the base of Casper Mountain. The board leaned on county truck bans and new zoning to conclude the project can’t clear its next hurdles, and a community that mobilized fast celebrated a win. Whether that victory proves temporary will depend on what happens in court — and whether state leaders embrace a different future for those school trust acres.

The original story by Dustin Bleizeffer for WyoFile.