Camp Elim/Long Meadow Ranch Land Exchange Closes in the Pike National Forest, Colorado

This assembled land exchange on the South Platte and Pikes Peak Ranger Districts provided numerous public benefits and addressed several Forest Service management issues.  The 247 acres of land acquired by the United States include three inholdings along Rampart Range Road, portions of the Monument Spur Trail in Limbaugh Canyon near Larkspur, portions of Rule Ridge Road north of Woodland Park, inholdings along South Cheyenne Creek near Gold Camp Road southwest of Colorado Springs, and opportunities for improved parking along Highway 285 for the Ben Tyler Trail/Lost Creek Wilderness trailhead.

The seven federal parcels conveyed to private ownership in the exchange have historic uses that impaired their National Forest character, including an organizational camp (Camp Elim), four recreational residence cabins in Douglas County, youth camp programming (Camp Shady Brook), and the access between portions of a legacy ranch (Long Meadow Ranch).

Western Land Group represented Camp Elim, Camp Shady Brook, Long Meadow Ranch, and cabin owners in the exchange.  Our facilitation services included identifying and securing non-federal lands for the exchange, removing withdrawals for Power Site Classifications and the Manitou Experimental Forest on federal parcels, and addressing appraisal issues.