John Doolittle: “I would like to thank Mr. Radanovich for his diligent work on H.R. 3147. H.R. 3147 will result in an equal value…”

“I would like to thank Mr. Radanovich for his diligent work on H.R. 3147. H.R. 3147 will result in an equal value exchange of lands between the Bureau of Land Management [BLM] and the Merced Irrigation District [MID] supported by all interested parties. In 1991, Congress added 8 miles of the Merced River upstream from Lake McClure in Mariposa County, CA, to the National Wild and Scenic River System. Lake McClure is the main reservoir of the Merced Irrigation District. The Bureau of Land Management manages a significant amount of land in the Lake McClure area. Soon after the wild and scenic river designation, MID and the BLM began to discuss a possible land transfer to enhance their land management objectives. As a result of the discussions, MID and BLM worked out a land exchange in which BLM would convey several scattered parcels of land below Lake McClure in exchange for approximately 160 acres of land owned by MID along the national wild and scenic corridor. The land exchange proposal is contained in H.R. 3147. H.R. 3147 will enable the BLM to consolidate its land ownership in the Merced River region and enhance one of their most important recreational areas in California. At the same time, H.R. 3147 will benefit MID by allowing them to consolidate their ownership of lands in the Lake McClure area.”