| Chapter 2—Area Description and Resources23 |
National Wildlife Refuge. The stage stations established by the Overland Stage Company became the first permanent Euro-American structures in the area (Larson and Letts 2003).
The first homestead in the basin was built in 1864 by Phillip Mandel along the Little Laramie River. It also served as a stage station for the Overland Trail. Mandel sold replacement stock to travelers and later cut and sold hay to soldiers at Fort Sanders, which was established in 1866 just south of present-day Laramie and about 10 miles northeast of Hutton Lake Refuge. Until 1882, when the fort closed, it helped protect the early settlers and travelers in the basin during the many conflicts with Native Americans. The construction of the Union Pacific Railroad through the area in the late 1860s was one of the most influential events in the history of the region. The development of the railroad lead to the growth of Laramie and was the catalyst for expanding the cattle and sheep ranching industries that are still present today.
The Service has a trust responsibility to Native American tribes that includes protection of tribal sovereignty and preservation of tribal culture and other trust resources. The Service does not now propose any project, activity, or program that would result in changes in the character of, or adversely affect, any historical cultural resource or archaeological site. When such undertakings are considered, the Service takes all necessary steps to comply with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended. The Service complies with Section 110 of the act by surveying, inventorying, and evaluating cultural resources
| Socioeconomic Environment |
Landownership, property taxes, public use, and wildlife-dependent recreational activities of the Laramie Plains are discussed in this section.
The proposed project area is located in Albany County, Wyoming, which has a population of 36,299 (U.S. Department of Commerce 2011). Most of the population (30,816) lives in Laramie, the largest city in Albany County. Wyoming has a population of 563,626 (U.S. Department of Commerce 2011). Over a 10-year period (2000–2010), the population of Wyoming increased by 14.1 percent and the population of Albany County increased by 13.4 percent. In 2010, the county’s population rose 6.8 percent or by 2,320 persons. Within this 10-year span, 84 percent of the growth was within the boundaries of the city of Laramie (see figure LPP-9).
The economy of the project area is tied to the city of Laramie. The presence of the University of Wyoming strongly influences Albany County’s occupational demographics, with 41 percent of the 2010 population working in management, professional, and related occupations (including education) (see figure LPP-10). Farming, fishing, and forestry account for 0.13 percent of the workforce, a reduction from 1.4 percent in 2006 (Wyoming Department of Workforce Services 2012) (see figure LPP-10).
Landownership
The agricultural trend within the Laramie Plains follows statewide trends. From 2002 to 2007, the number of farms in Albany County increased from 320 to 448, a 40-percent increase. Although the number of farms increased, the acreage being farmed decreased by 22 percent, indicating that while there are more farms, they are smaller in size (USDA 2007).
Wyoming ranks eighth among States in total acres (42.3 percent) owned by the Federal government (U.S. General Services Administration 2010). The State government owns 6 percent (3,854,800 acres) of all Wyoming lands.
Property Taxes
Property taxes constitute the largest source of local government revenue (Urban Institute and Brookings Institution 2008) and are not expected to be substantially affected by conservation easements in the proposed WTCA. Property taxes are assessed based on the value of property. For most types of properties, county assessors use fair market value to calculate property tax liabilities; however, agricultural land is often assessed differently. In many States, the assessed value of agricultural land is calculated based on the productive value of the land rather than on the fair market value of the property.
The fair market value of a property is calculated by an appraisal. This value includes both the productive value of the land and any speculative value associated with the possibility of developing the land. Conservation easements reduce the fair market value of property by removing the speculative value associated with possible development; however, conservation easements generally do not affect the productive value of agricultural land.
Wyoming landowners now pay property taxes on their private lands to the counties. These taxes are based on a fair market value, and agricultural land is
