Grand Teton National Park buys Kelly Parcel from Wyoming

GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (KIFI) — The U.S. Department of Interior has purchased from the state of Wyoming a one-square-mile piece of land inside the boundaries of Grand Teton National Park for $100 million.

The so-called Kelly Parcel sits in a key wildlife migration corridor. The area was part of the state school trust land, and the sale will benefit Wyoming's public education system.

The deal will allow the federal government to protect the 640-acre piece of land from development.

The financing for the purchase was the result of a public-private partnership.

Roughly a third of the money came from private donations from the nonprofit Grand Teton National Park Foundation.