The U.S. Forest Service is seeking public input on a proposed land exchange in Eagle County.
Along with the Colorado State Land Board and the Upper Eagle Regional Water Authority, the agency is looking at a swap involving 10 isolated parcels of land along the I-70 corridor from Edwards to Vail. It’s an approach the Forest Service has been pursuing across the country in part to reduce land management costs.
“These isolated parcels are more difficult to manage, more costly to manage,” says White River National Forest spokesman Pat Thrasher. “And also to pursue opportunities that really benefit the public, in terms of improved wildlife habitat, improved recreation opportunities and those sorts of things.”
In exchange for ten separate tracts comprising roughly 986 acres of National Forest System land, the public would receive 1,285 acres north and south of Edwards. Thrasher says as part of the environmental analysis process, the Eagle/Holy Cross Ranger District is inviting the public to comment on the proposed land exchange before March 11th.
