OUR EFFORTS
What We Do
We closely watch each step of the federal land exchange process to ensure that the public agency is adhering to the laws and regulations governing its evaluation process and that the public interest is represented.
What is a land exchange?
Land exchanges are swaps of tracts of land between public agencies, or between public agencies and a private landowner or landowners. When a public land agency proposes a land exchange or sale, it is governed by statutes or regulations intended to protect the public interest. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) provides strict guidelines for environmental analysis and disclosures as well as opportunities for citizen input on Federal land exchanges. The Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) dictates that Bureau of Land Management, US Forest Service, and other Federal agency land exchanges must serve the public interest and yield equal value to both (or multiple) sides in the transaction.
We work to:
Track land exchanges.
Advocate for transparency in the land management decision making.
Make the land exchange process more user-friendly and understandable.
Get word out to increase awareness of land management decision making processes.
Promote the public process by encouraging and assisting in public access to information, input, review and comment.
Organize communities for meaningful public input.
We address public concerns around land policies and process including:
Loss of public access to public lands, especially through the elimination of small corridors of public lands.
Equal consideration of impacts, gains and losses to all public user groups.
Consideration of future maintenance and conservation objectives of both public and private lands involved.
Potential disparities in the appraised real estate values that the public agencies are using to evaluate the monetary aspects of the exchange.
Insufficient consideration of the net public benefits and the cumulative effects of a potential land exchange
Land Exchange Archive
Locke Park
Located approximately 14 miles Northwest of Westcliff, CO Overview: The Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp is proposing to convey an approximately 120-acre inholding in the Locke Park area…
Blue Valley Ranch
Near Kremmling, CO Overview: The proposal would privatize the last remaining three public parcels along a 15-mile stretch of the Blue River, a gold medal trout stream. In…
Willow Creek
Near Winter Park, CO Overview: TMII Development, LLC is proposing to convey one parcel of land containing approximately 50.23 acres to the USFS. In exchange, USFS proposes to…
Valle Seco
Near Pagosa Springs, CO Overview: Proposed in November 2019, this project involves the exchange of nine federal parcels of land, Parcel 1-9, on the San Juan National Forest…
Mt. Emmons
Near Crested Butte, CO Overview: The Mt. Emmons (AKA Red Lady) land exchange has been in the works for many years. It involves the exchange of three parcels…
Buffalo Horn
Near Meeker, CO Overview: On January 14, 2021 the BLM issued their decision to approve a land exchange with Buffalo Horn Properties, LLC to convey 14 parcels of…