Commissioners to probe Bear Ranch public land exchange

“Otherwise we’re preempting a process that might not even happen”

If you thought discussion over the Central Rockies Land Exchange ended after the legislation’s main sponsor, U.S. Congressman John Salazar, failed to get reelected, think again. The Gunnison Board of County Commissioners wants to be ready if another representative takes up the torch.

However, the commissioners want to take the temperature of the state’s delegation before kicking off an effort to hear from the public on the contentious bill that would consolidate two halves of the private Bear Ranch in the North Fork Valley and add land to two national parks, including Curecanti National Recreation Area.
The Central Rockies Land Exchange and National Park System Enhancement Act of 2010 was a bill that had been brought to the table by then-Rep. Salazar, and then removed during the last legislative session.
The Act proposed a swap of 1,846 acres of public lands running through the middle of the Bear Ranch for nearly 1,000 acres of land, including some prime real estate in Gunnison County adjacent to the Curecanti National Recreation Area owned by billionaire Bear Ranch owner Bill Koch. Residents of the area near the Bear Ranch weren’t going to let the prime wildlife habitat and backcountry access go without a fight. The area’s residents didn’t like the idea of exchanging public land in their backyard for land on the other side of the county.
Several raised questions about the deal and Salazar’s relationship to Koch, who has reportedly given the maximum contribution allowed to the congressman’s campaign each year since 2007.
Their effort was enough to derail the legislation, and with a new congressman in the state delegation, the future of the land exchange hangs in waiting.
“I thought this time that [the legislation] is going to be on the shelf would be a good time to air some of the information that has come out in more recent weeks about this exchange and some of the questions that have come up,” county commissioner Hap Channell said, adding that he had spoken with Senator Michael Bennet’s office, which indicated that nothing would happen with the bill during the current lame duck session.
County manager Matthew Birnie had also spoken with Bennet’s office and said, “My sense was that, even though [Bennet] was a co-sponsor of the legislation, with all of the controversy and then John [Salazar]’s defeat, it didn’t sound like it was one of the things he was going to be pushing.”
Although Channell acknowledged that the issue “isn’t as compelling as it was,” he still felt that it deserved some thought before the topic of a Bear Ranch land exchange is raised again.
He suggested that the county send the state’s congressional delegation and congressman-elect Scott Tipton a letter asking for an update on the bill and the likelihood that it will be reintroduced in some future session.
“Otherwise we’re preempting a process that might not even happen,” Channell concluded.
The commissioners agreed and directed staff to write the letter asking where the proposal stands.