On the recordJune 24, 2010
I rise today to speak about legislation I am introducing, co-sponsored by Senators Bennett, Hatch, and Bennet of Colorado, to effectuate a relatively small land exchange involving lands in Colorado and Utah. The exchange involves a private ranch, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service. In a nutshell, the private Bear Ranch in central/west Colorado is completely bisected by a narrow strip of BLM land, mostly 1/4 to 1/2 mile wide, which is of limited public use due to its narrow configuration. The Bear Ranch would like to acquire the BLM strip in order to consolidate its ranch holdings for more efficient land, ranch and wildlife management, and to improve wildlife enhancement. There is also an issue of inadvertent trespass onto the Bear Ranch from the neighboring BLM land that would be eliminated by the Bear Ranch's acquisition of the BLM land strip. In return for the BLM land, the Bear Ranch has purchased or optioned two magnificent tracts of land in Colorado and Utah that would be added into the National Park System.
