Private land acquired along proposed routes

In some places, the CDT winds through hundreds of miles of uninterrupted federal land. But in others, the proposed route of the trail, and sometimes the only physically possible route for the trail, crosses privately –owned mining claims that lay on the landscape like pick up sticks. Without a legal right-of-way, the Trail would have to be routed around these private lands. This summer, the CDTA and the Forest Service in Colorado and Wyoming began to address this problem by purchasing patented mining claims along the Continental Divide.

In the fall of 1999, the CDTA successfully lobbied Congress to appropriate $700,000 in Land & Water Conservation Funds for the acquisition of private lands along the proposed route of the CDNST from willing sellers. This rare funding opportunity inspired a unique public-private collaboration in the Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Region. CDTA enlisted the help of Western Land Group, Inc., a private consulting firm with a twenty-year history in facilitating public land transactions. Tom Glass, CDTA Honorary Board member and founder of Western Land Group, arranged for Western Land Group to donate much of its time and services to the effort.

Working as a team, staff from the Rocky Mountain Region and the White River and Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forest, the CDTA, and Western Land Group began with an inventory of prioritization of all private lands, mostly patented mining claims along the proposed CDT route in Dillon and Clear Creek Ranger Districts. Later the Medicine Bow National Forest Joined the effort.

The highest acquisition priorities were those properties the Trail was proposed to cross but had no implied right-of-way. Lower priorities included private properties at connector trail trailheads and along roads that are used by or provide access to CDT. Working through the list of priorities, Western Land Group then researched and contacted the owners of each property, described the project, and invited their participation. If the landowners chose to participate, the properties were appraised and, if the appraised value was acceptable to the landowner, the properties were purchased for that value. The Forest Service paid for most of the costs of the transactions, such as appraisals, title insurance, and closing costs. The CDTA played a critical role in contracting to purchase the properties and optioning them to the Forest Service. On several acquisitions the CDTA provided earnest money to secure the properties.

"This project demonstrated the synergy that can come from a public-private partnership," said Tim Wohlgenant, project manager for Western Land Group. "By drawing on the strengths of each team member, we acquired lands that would have forced re-routing of the Trail or could have impaired public enjoyment over the long term."

As a result of this partnership effort, this summer the CDTA and the Forest Service closed on the purchase of 23 mining claims, totaling 157 acres and valued at about $317,000. The majority of these acquisitions are located along the Divide between Clear Creek and Summit Counties in Colorado. One group of claims crossed the popular hiking trail to the top of Torreys Peak, on of Colorado’s "fourteeners." In addition to the acquisitions in Colorado, the Brush Creek District of the Medicine Bow National Forest picked up a key 62-acre inholding west of Encampment.