GLENWOOD SPRINGS, CO – The White River National Forest (WRNF) has been instrumental in a recent environmental analysis that allows the San Juan National Forest to acquire 407 acres of private land in remote areas of La Plata and Dolores Counties.  The exchange is for 53 acres of National Forest lands deeded to the Town of Breckenridge in Summit County. Federal acquisition of these two isolated private inholdings protects backcountry locations from future development and allow for their use and enjoyment by the general public.  Such actions must provide the greatest benefits to the public to proceed. Acreage to be added to […]

SILT, CO – The Bureau of Land Management today conveyed 62.5 acres of BLM land to the City of Glenwood Springs to assist with its South Canyon Landfill expansion. The land is on the northern boundary of the current landfill and is predominantly a steep slope that is not used by the public or for other purposes. The City of Glenwood Springs applied for the conveyance under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act. This act authorizes the sale or lease of public lands for recreational or public purposes to state and local governments and to qualified nonprofit organizations. BLM released the […]

WOLF CREEK, CO – The Forest Service has approved a controversial land swap atop Wolf Creek Pass that paves the way for development of a mountain village near the Continental Divide. Rio Grande National Forest supervisor Dan Dallas on Thursday announced his final decision to OK a land exchange with Texas businessman B.J. “Red” McCombs, who has labored for nearly 30 years to carve a 1,711-unit, 10,000-person resort village on about 300 acres on Wolf Creek Pass that he acquired in a land swap with the Forest Service in 1986.  In 2010, he proposed the most recent land exchange as a way […]

FRISCO, CO (CBS4) – There’s an effort to bring more affordable housing options to one of Colorado’s most popular destinations. It’s taking an act of Congress, but Summit County should soon acquire a big chunk of land for more housing. The land is between Interstate 70 and Dillon Dam Road and right now it’s part of the White River National Forest near Frisco. The Forest Service says the land is no good to them as it sits now between the interstate and heavy traffic on the Dillon Dam Road. It’s not quite a done deal yet, but a bill is sitting […]

Water Authority, Town of Avon and Mountain Star Association partner to complete new tank Representatives of the Upper Eagle Regional Water Authority, town of Avon, and Mountain Star Association gathered Dec. 8 to mark the completion of a new water storage tank that serves the Mountain Star community. The Water Authority put the 270,000-gallon tank into service Nov. 15, after it was completed on time and under budget during a six-month construction window. Envisioned in 1993 – when Avon originally approved the subdivision – the tank is one of five that along with five booster pump stations comprises the potable […]

News Release Colorado River Valley Field Office, Colorado March 27, 2017 Contact: David Boyd, Public Affairs Specialist, (970) 876-9008 SILT, Colo. – Today the Bureau of Land Management and proponents of the Sutey Ranch Land Exchange recorded the final documents completing the exchange of lands in Eagle, Garfield, and Pitkin counties. The closing follows today’s Interior Board of Land Appeals’ affirmation of the BLM’s decision to complete the exchange. “Having the decision affirmed is great news for public lands in the Roaring Fork Valley,” said Shonna Dooman, acting field manager of the BLM’s Colorado River Valley Field Office. “This land […]

Western Land Group helped negotiate, facilitate and close a land swap between the Colorado State Land Board and the Sleeping Lion Ranch south of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, in May 2018. By relinquishing state land that was surrounded by private lands and acquiring ranch lands next to the Routt National Forest, this exchange will help the state generate funds for public schools and provide access to the forest for recreation. The Sleeping Lion Ranch also benefits by consolidating its holdings and acquiring a section of land that will allow for better management of ranch property.

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 […]

The 115th Congress was short on accomplishments, especially in the public lands arena.  However, Western Land Group did get one bill passed and is hopeful that during the first few months of the 116th Congress several additional bills will be enacted. H.R. 698 became Public Law 115-252 on October 3, 2018, and requires the United States to re-patent 148 acres of land to the Elkhorn Ranch near Rifle, Colorado. The land was originally patented as private land to the Elkhorn Ranch’s predecessors in the early 1900s, but the ownership was thrown into doubt by a 1949 government survey. Public law […]

Western Land Group worked with the U.S. Forest Service and the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to pursue and ultimately close this Congressionally authorized land exchange with the U.S. Forest Service. The land exchange closed on February 8, 2021. It conveyed a forested and undeveloped 320-acre parcel along the northwestern flank of Pikes Peak (known as the Crags Parcel) to the Pike and San Isabel National Forest near located near the popular Crags Campground to enhance the management of this area for its wildlife values and public recreational opportunities, and the values associated with the adjacent Pikes Peak West […]