Martin Falbisoner / Wikimedia Commons
Why It Matters
Jackson Hole Airport, Wyoming’s busiest air facility, negotiated an agreement in 2018 that effectively exempted millions of dollars in revenue from federal fees owed to Grand Teton National Park. The deal allows the airport to classify its fuel and service operations as a separate business venture, shielding approximately $33.6 million in annual revenue from the standard 3-4% fee structure mandated under a 40-year-old use agreement. The arrangement highlights a significant gap between what the airport pays and what it might owe under a conventional interpretation of its federal lease.
What Happened
Jackson Hole Airport operates on 533 acres within Grand Teton National Park under a 1983 use agreement requiring it to pay the federal government between 3% and 4% of operating revenues. In 2018, the airport sought a revision to this agreement, and Grand Teton Superintendent David Vela approved the airport’s interpretation that revenues from a newly structured fixed-base operator—a fuel and service business—should be treated as separate from standard operating revenues and therefore excluded from the federal fee calculation.
The airport then acquired the fixed-base operator outright in 2023. In its first full year of ownership during fiscal year 2024, the facility generated $33.6 million in revenue from fuel sales, maintenance, and related aviation services. That same year, the airport’s total operating revenue reached $59.5 million, more than doubling from $30.1 million two years prior.
Despite the substantial revenue increase, federal fee payments grew modestly. The airport paid $806,599 in federal fees in the earlier comparison year and $1.026 million in FY 2024—an increase of just $219,632. By FY 2026, federal payments reached $1.35 million. Interim Airport Director Bob McLaurin stated the airport believes it “is paying the amount that’s appropriate under the agreement we have with the Department of the Interior,” and declined to calculate what alternative fee structures might have yielded.
By the Numbers
- $33.6 million: Revenue from the fixed-base operator in FY 2024
- $59.5 million: Total airport operating revenue in FY 2024, up from $30.1 million two years earlier
- 3-4%: Federal fee percentage under the 1983 use agreement
- $1.35 million: Federal fees paid in FY 2026
- 580,702: Passengers enplaned at Jackson Hole Airport in 2025
Financial and Park Implications
The fee arrangement occurs as Grand Teton National Park faces a $343 million deferred maintenance backlog, part of a broader $35 billion-plus maintenance crisis across the national park system. Airport officials contend the exemption structure is consistent with their lease terms, but the substantial growth in airport revenue without proportional increases in federal payments raises questions about whether the park receives adequate compensation for the airport’s intensive use of federal land.
Jackson Hole Airport serves as a critical regional hub, with studies suggesting it captures 5% to 11% of regional air traffic. The facility’s expansion—both in passenger volume and in ancillary revenue-generating operations—has transformed it into a significant economic engine for Teton County. That growth, however, has also widened the gap between what the airport generates and what flows back to the federal government and park services.
What’s Next
The federal government has not challenged the airport’s 2018 interpretation, and no review of the arrangement appears imminent. The airport continues to operate under the approved classification of its fixed-base operator revenues. Whether Grand Teton National Park leadership or the Department of the Interior will revisit the fee structure remains unclear, particularly given the park’s substantial maintenance needs and the airport’s continued revenue growth.
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