Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60Land ownership 34 Railroad checkerboard pattern More than 48% of the land in Wyoming is owned by the federal government, placing Wyoming sixth among states in total acres and fifth in percentage of land owned by the federal government. The First Transcontinental Railroad, completed in 1869, was financed in part by land grants to the railroad. Every other section (one square mile) of land within twenty miles of the railroad was granted to the Union Pacific, which tried to sell the land to raise capital for the venture. The sale of these sections to private land owners resulted in a permanent checkerboard pattern of alternating federal and private land in southwestern Wyoming. Private 44.05% BLM 27.97% USFS 13.8% BIA 2.47% State 5.75% NPS 3.66% Other Federal 1.89% Private (44.05%) 43,088 sq. miles Bureau of Indian Affairs (2.47%) 2,421 sq. miles Bureau of Land Mgmt. (27.97%) 27,358 sq. miles Forest Service (13.8%) 13,501 sq. miles National Park Service (3.66%) 3,584 sq. miles Other Federal (1.89%) 1,846 sq. miles State (5.75%) 5,624 sq. miles Water (0.4%) 390 sq. miles Land ownership categories (2013) Data Go Interactive