Interest in Red Desert parcels heats up

There's a sudden interest in buying land found in the Red Desert, as evidenced by an increasing number of calls to the Sweetwater County Land Use Department.

"We get quite a few calls," Stephanie Muckley, administrative assistant for the department said.

Call volumes range from a few each week to several per day, all of which come from outside Wyoming. Jim Zimmerman, the code enforcement specialist for the department, said he has spoken with people who blindly bought parcels without looking at land or an understanding of what they're buying.

Land in the Red Desert presents unique challenges to prospective developers. The parcels themselves may be cut off from access by a web of ownership rights on surrounding parcels, forcing property owners to trespass if they want to view their land.

Access from major roads is also extremely limited, with some parcels being far from even the most basic two-track roads.

Development would be a difficult task as well, since the first order of business is building a road to the county's minimum standards. Estimates from the county would put the construction cost at a minimum of $100,000 per mile, not including the cost of engineering, excavation and acquiring the right-of-ways from surrounding property owners. Water is scarce, the soil has poor load-bearing capacity and public utilities are mostly non-existent.

The department actively tries to warn potential buyers of these and other challenges through its website. Yet, many isolated parcels continually are bought and sold. One parcel reviewed by the Green River Star had been purchased and sold twice within the last six months.

Zimmerman said one person he spoke with said a website advertising a parcel featured photos of rivers and flat, open land.

One advertisement for land on landwatch.com highlights a 40-acre parcel for $100, calling it a 40-acre ranchette. Featuring low-resolution images of areas throughout the county, the site does list the photos as "reference to the general area."

"This property is close to interstate I-80. Nice peaceful area. Great for camping, hiking and hunting," the website states.

The land is listed by "Debbie" of All Finance LLC, a California-based company Google lists as permanently closed. The description listed on landwatch.com describes a second website, governmentauction.com. An email to All Finance LLC through Landwatch.com was not replied to as of press time. A call to the phone number listed on the site played a recorded message telling prospective buyers to go to governmentauction.com.

That website, while featuring a logo similar to a government badge and utilizing American flags in its page design, is not a government agency.

"GovernmentAuction.com is not a governmental agency, but a private company that works closely with a variety of government agencies to find and purchase parcels of land in bulk," the website's About Us page states.

Zimmerman believes the interest is driven by unrest in metropolitan areas and fear driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. People looking to escape to a more laid-back lifestyle they imagine exists in Wyoming. Zimmerman recalls one conversation with someone who had already bought land and learned the reality of the situation during the phone call.

"He was sickened by it, he really was," Zimmerman said. "It's the old cliché, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."