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The 25-year lease that permits Latter-day Saint teens to conduct treks to the site of the largest pioneer tragedy in American history will expire in 2029.
Now an independent group is proposing a land swap that would transfer ownership of Martin’s Cove in Wyoming from the federal government to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Purchases or trades involving federal lands are common. Ten years ago, for example, Brigham Young University purchased 81 acres of Y Mountain from the U.S. Forest Service for $180,000.
Another common feature with federal lands is a lack of permanence. Democrat presidents created the massive Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears land monuments in Utah. After President Donald Trump reduced their size during his first term, President Joe Biden expanded them again.
This week, Trump again reduced their size again. The Deseret News editorial board described it as “national monument yo-yo” and said it was no way to settle land issues in a republic.
The new nonprofit organization Wyoming Friends for Martin’s Cove hopes to create a permanent win-win deal that will bring an end to uncertainty at the site, where the church operates a visitors’ center.
The proposal is to have the church trade 933 acres of private ranch land it owns nearby for the 933 acres of Martin’s Cove site that is publicly owned and managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
Martin’s Cove is a sacred site to Latter-day Saints. It is a symbol of the suffering of two handcart and two wagon companies caught in winter blizzards that killed an estimated 240 to 250 pioneers in 1856.
It was “the worst non-military disaster on the emigrant trails,” according to an author on WyoHistory.org.
The cove provided key shelter during a massive rescue effort, but when storms struck again one pioneer described the cove as “an overcrowded tomb.”
More than 100,000 people visit Martin’s Cove each year. Thousands of Latter-day Saint youth go on dayslong handcart treks every summer on the Mormon Trail on the property to learn history’s lessons.
The proposed deal is supported by three former Wyoming governors and a former Trump appointee to the U.S. Department of the Interior, according to WyoFile.
The church has leased the site for 30 years. The current lease is for $16,000 a year, according to WyoHistory.org.
It initially acquired a five-year lease for Martin’s Cove in 1997, when it also bought the 13,000-acre Sun Ranch at Devil’s Gate, which runs along the Sweetwater River and abuts Martin’s Cove.
Legislation proposed at the time to allow the church to buy Martin’s Cove was met with stiff resistance and failed in the U.S. Senate.
The proposed land swap would require Congressional approval, but that is also common. Congress approved the sale of Y Mountain to BYU.
Wyoming state Sen. Dan Dockstader told WyoFile that the public would acquire “quality pieces” of land from the church.
The Wyoming Friends for Martin’s Cove came to the church with the proposal, said Beth Worthen, the church’s local spokeswoman for Martin’s Cove.
“We’re grateful for their thoughtfulness and their collaboration with stakeholders,” she said. “The church’s role is to carefully consider the proposal and then determine whether participating would further the commitment to preserving Martin’s Cove while benefiting the public, and we believe it does.”
Worthen said the church is grateful that the group making the proposal includes people representing a broad range of interests.
Wyoming Friends for Martin’s Cove is trying to reach out to all interested parties to answer concerns before they arise, including Native American tribes, wilderness advocates and local, state and political leaders.
“Martin’s Cove is meaningful to many people and groups,” Worthen said. “It’s an important place in the history of the church. It’s an important part of Wyoming’s heritage, and it’s part of the broader story of the American West.”
The church believes the proposal to exchange lands would create lasting public benefits, she said.
“With significant historic and conservation, wildlife, and recreational value, it’s certainly responsible stewardship,” she said. “It would be great for residents of Wyoming, visitors to the state, visitors to Martin’s Cove. The visitor experience will not change at Martin’s Cove. In fact, it will be enhanced because the church will be able to really plan for the long-term care and stewardship of the site.”
The Wyoming Friends for Martin’s Cove is working with Wyoming’s Congressional delegation to draft a bill this summer and introduce it to Congress this year.
A free, brief and engaging online history of the Martin’s Cove crisis is available in chapters 15 and 16 of volume two of “Saints: No Unhallowed Hand.”
To learn more about the land swap proposal, read the story published by WyoFile.
My Recent Stories
Latter-day Saints hit new record with 88,500 missionaries. Here’s why and what it means (July 14)
About the church
Latter-day Saints reacted online to the new record number of missionaries.
Church leaders issued a rendering of the exterior rendering of the Spanish Fork Utah Temple.
They also released site maps for three temples in South America.
A documentary investigating the possible lost likeness of Joseph Smith will film in Utah.
In case you missed it, the church has a new executive director of the Missionary Department, Elder Jonathan S. Schmitt, who replaces Elder W. Mark Bassett, who died after an accident in May.
Called to paint: How this Latter-day Saint “art missionary” helped shape Utah’s artistic heritage.
What I’m reading
Need a book recommendation? Boy, have I got one. I picked up “Lexington and Concord: The Battle Heard Round the World,” by George C. Daughan while at our annual family reunion in Cedar city for the Shakespeare Festival. It’s an outstanding book. I was steeped in American Revolutionary War history as a boy growing up in Boston, but I am learning so much through this well-researched, easy-to-read, engaging book. Non-fiction that is hard to put down is too rare and too needed these days when we all are so busy staring at phones instead.
The video tribute to baseball during the All-Star Game on Tuesday was brilliant. J.K. Simmons narrated. If you love kids and sports, you’ll enjoy it. You’ll see boys and girls on the field with All-Stars between innings. The kids played catch with their idols, got hitting tips and traded baseball cards. I loved the message Simmons shared. Watch it here:
On the other hand, I’m sad to see this trend burrowing into the game. It’s bad that team management won’t let pitchers go nine innings any more. We need a solution.
Behind the Scenes
Latter-day Saints join handcart treks all around the world. Here are some images from Mongolia, Tasmania, Martin’s Cove and Utah:
