Proposed forest land auction raises skepticism

By Linda Bell
Correspondent

Arecent proposal to sell off about 304,000 acres of U.S. Forest Service land to fund rural education through 2011 is "like selling the ranch to pay your credit card bill," according to Larimer County Commissioner Kathay Rennels.

Asked about the proposal at a March citizens' meeting in Red Feather Lakes, Rennels said she personally doesn't think the sale will go forward, but it could. "Our Colorado federal congressional delegation is completely against it," she said.

About 3,873 acres of the national forest land slated for sale are in Larimer County within the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests. The parcels range in size from 316 acres to 0.02 acres.

President Bush's fiscal year 2007 budget includes this legislative proposal that would grant the Forest Service authority to sell off small tracts to fund states and counties impacted by the loss of receipts associated with lower timber harvest on federal lands. The legislation would extend the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 for an additional five years. The government estimates the land could possibly yield as much as $800 million.

The Forest Service will include in its proposal the opportunity for local and state government agencies and nonprofit land trust organizations to have first right to bid on these parcels at market value, before they are offered to others at auction.

Rennels said the county's master open space plan is based on the assumption that when existing Forest Service land adjoins open space, it benefits the county to expand the total acreage and enhance recreation, vistas and natural animal and plant ecosystems. The county really doesn't want to be placed in a position to have to buy that land to protect its investment, she said. Besides, it's like buying back lands already bought as citizens of the country, rather than as residents of the county, Rennels noted.

At a recent meeting of the road and recreation board at Glacier View Meadows, a large subdivision in Livermore surrounding four Forest Service parcels that are listed for proposed sale, board members noted that access to these parcels could only be through the association's private roads, and some of the land isn't accessible at all. While the board considered buying one parcel as a solution to an otherwise problematic slash pile, buying all four wasn't an option, and discussion turned to the negative effects on property values of land adjoining the parcels, especially since they were purchased at a premium due to their location.

John Bustos, public affairs officer for Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland, said early in 2006 the administration requested the Forest Service to look broadly at its maps and identify parcels surrounded by private land that were costly to manage.

Traditionally, Bustos said, small parcels are used for land exchanges to augment larger holdings, creating a better resource with more ecological sustainability. Asked if the land sale could be at all beneficial to the local ranger district, Bustos said the sale was proposed by the administration and the Forest Service will support the administration.

The Forest Service's comment period on the proposed legislation closed March 30. Comments received after that date will be considered only to the extent practicable. Should the proposed legislation pass, Bustos said, there is no projected date for such a sale.

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