CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming will sell a 1-square-mile (2.6-square-kilometer) parcel of pristine land bordering Grand Teton National Park to the U.S. government for $100 million after Gov. Mark Gordon signed off on a deal Friday that ends the state’s longstanding threats to unload it to a developer.

Under the agreement the federal government will pay the appraised value of $62.5 million for the property, while privately raised funds will supply the rest.

Carpeted by a mix of trees, shrubs and sagebrush, the rolling land has a commanding view of the iconic Teton Range and is prime habitat for animals including elk, moose and grizzly bears.

Gordon, a Republican, announced in a statement that he was approving the deal to add the land to the national park after his office ensured that a U.S. Bureau of Land Management plan for managing a vast area of southwestern Wyoming doesn’t carry too many restrictions on development including oil and gas drilling — a stipulation made by the state Legislature last winter.

Even so, Gordon criticized the BLM’s overall plan for the arid, minerals-rich area 150 miles (240 kilometers) south of Grand Teton as “the Biden administration’s parting shot” at the state.

“I have been in contact with Wyoming’s congressional delegation and potential members of the incoming Trump Administration to fix the mess an ideological Biden administration is leaving for southwestern Wyoming,” Gordon said in the statement.

Interior Department officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

Wyoming has owned the southeastern Jackson Hole property, bordered by Grand Teton on three sides and national forest on the fourth, since long before the national park’s establishment in 1929. It is the last and most valuable of four state-owned parcels sold to be annexed by the park in the past decade.

The federal government granted such lands to many states, particularly in the West, at statehood to help raise money for public education. Despite the location and astronomical value of the parcels, they brought in relatively little revenue for the state through grazing leases and other uses.

So over the years, governors have sought to goad federal officials into buying the lands by threatening to auction them off.

The Wyoming Board of Land Commissioners, made up of Gordon and the state’s other four top state elected officials, voted 3-2 in November to proceed with the sale after debating whether to negotiate a trade for federally owned mineral rights elsewhere in the state.

Clouds/chance of snow in western Wyoming on Friday. Generally sunny in the east. Winter storm advisories in some areas. Highs from the mid 20s to upper 40s. Lows from the single digits to upper 20s. 

Central:  

Casper:  Slight chance of snow after 5 p.m., otherwise mostly sunny and windy today with a high near 41 and wind gusts as high as 41 mph. Mostly cloudy overnight with a slight chance of snow before 7 p.m., a low near 29 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph.

Riverton:  Partly sunny and breezy today with a high near 39 and wind gusts as high as 23 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with a low near 17.

Shoshoni:  Increasing clouds today with a high near 39 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with a low near 16.

Southwest:  

Evanston:  Breezy, up to 2 inches of snow likely today with a high near 35 and wind gusts as high as 38 mph. Mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of snow mainly before 8 p.m., a low near 23 and wind gusts as high as 32 mph.

Green River:  Chance of snow and rain, patchy blowing snow after 3 p.m., breezy and increasing clouds today with a high near 35 and wind gusts as high as 34 mph. Mostly cloudy and breezy overnight with patchy blowing snow before 2 a.m., a low near 20 and wind gusts as high as 33 mph.

Lyman:  Snow likely, mostly cloudy and breezy today with a high near 38 and wind gusts as high as 36 mph. Mostly cloudy and breezy overnight with a chance of snow mainly before 8 p.m., a low near 26 and wind gusts as high as 37 mph.

Western Wyoming:  

Pinedale:  Winter storm watch from 11 p.m. tonight through Monday morning. Up to 3 inches of snow near certain today with a high near 26 and mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of snow mainly before 8 p.m. and a low near 14.

Alpine:  Winter storm warning in effect until 11 p.m. Winter storm watch from 11 p.m. tonight through Monday morning. Up to 7 inches of snow, heavy at times, mainly after 8 a.m., patchy fog before 9 a.m. and breezy today with a high near 32 and wind gusts as high as 24 mph. Up to 4 inches of snow likely overnight with a low near 22 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph.

Big Piney:  Up to 2 inches of snow mainly after 10 a.m. likely today with a high near 28 and mostly cloudy overnight with a slight chance of snow before 11 p.m. and a low near 7.

Northwest:  

Dubois:  Chance of snow mainly after 10 a.m., otherwise partly sunny and breezy today with a high near 33 and wind gusts as high as 31 mph. Partly cloudy and windy overnight with a chance of snow mainly before 11 p.m., patchy blowing snow, a low near 24 and wind gusts as high as 38 mph.

Jackson:  Winter weather advisory in effect through 11 p.m. tonight. Winter storm watch in effect from 11 p.m. tonight through Monday morning. Breezy, up to 4 inches of snow near certain today with a high near 31 and wind gusts as high as 23 mph. Mostly cloudy and breezy overnight with a chance of up to 3 inches of snow mainly before 8 p.m., a low near 20 and wind gusts as high as 23 mph.

Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park:  Winter weather advisory in effect through 11 p.m. tonight. Winter storm watch in effect from 11 p.m. tonight through Monday morning. Up to 3 inches of snow likely, patchy fog before 9 a.m. today with a high near 28 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph. Mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of snow mainly after 2 a.m., a low near 16 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph.

Bighorn Basin:  

Thermopolis:  Increasing clouds and breezy today with a high near 42 and wind gusts as high as 26 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with a low near 20.

Cody:  Increasing clouds and breezy today with a high near 41 and wind gusts as high as 24 mph. Mostly cloudy and breezy overnight with a low near 28 and wind gusts as high as 26 mph.

Greybull:  Mostly sunny today with a high near 40 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 20.

North Central:  

Buffalo:  Mostly sunny today with a high near 42 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 27.

Sheridan:  Increasing clouds today with a high near 48 and mostly cloudy overnight with a low near 22.

Ranchester:  Increasing clouds today with a high near 45 and mostly cloudy overnight with a low near 23.

Northeast:  

Gillette:  Mostly sunny today with a high near 44 and wind gusts as high as 22 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with a low near 25 and wind gusts as high as 18 mph.

Sundance:  Sunny today with a high near 38 and wind gusts as high as 17 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with a low near 26.

Upton:  Sunny today with a high near 42 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 19.

Eastern Plains:  

Torrington:  Sunny and breezy today with a high near 48 and wind from 10-20 mph. Gradually becoming mostly clear overnight with a low near 26.

Douglas:   Mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 44 and wind gusts as high as 35 mph. Mostly cloudy and breezy overnight with a low near 23 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph.

Midwest:  Mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 42 and wind gusts as high as 33 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with a low near 25.

Southeast:  

Cheyenne:  Increasing clouds and breezy today with a high near 43 and wind gusts as high as 35 mph. Gradually clearing and blustery overnight with a slight chance of snow, a low near 28 and wind gusts as high as 35 mph.

Laramie:  Slight chance of snow after 4 p.m., increasing clouds and breezy today with a high near 38 and wind gusts as high as 35 mph. Breezy, gradually becoming partly cloudy overnight with a chance of snow, a low near 24 and wind gusts as high as 40 mph.

Pine Bluffs:  Sunny and breezy today with a high near 48 and wind gusts as high as 35 mph. Blustery, gradually becoming mostly clear overnight with a low near 25 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph.

South Central:  

Rawlins:  Chance of snow, increasing clouds and windy today with a high near 35 and wind gusts as high as 45 mph. Mostly cloudy and windy overnight with a chance of snow, a low near 26 and wind gusts as high as 45 mph.

Encampment:  Chance of up to 2 inches of snow mainly after 2 p.m., patchy blowing snow after 11 a.m., increasing clouds and breezy today with a high near 34 and wind gusts as high as 35 mph. Up to 2 inches of snow near certain, windy, patchy blowing snow after 10 p.m. overnight with a low near 26 and wind gusts as high as 40 mph.

Wamsutter:  Chance of snow mainly after 9 a.m., increasing clouds and breezy today with a high near 33 and wind gusts as high as 37 mph. Mostly cloudy and breezy overnight with a low near 22 and wind gusts as high as 34 mph.