The following has been pilfered from Friends of Wolf Creek.org but contains an important update and I'm hoping they won't mind.
Forest Service to Process Wolf Creek Land Exchange Proposal
March 8, 2011
The Rio Grande National Forest has published a feasibility analysis for the proposed Village at Wolf Creek Land Exchange and has entered into an agreement with Mr. McCombs to process the land exchange proposal. This means the Forest Service will conduct a thorough environmental analysis with public input before deciding whether or not to complete the land exchange.
Based on what we have seen so far, we continue to have concerns that McCombs' land exchange proposal is significantly out of balance, and unfair to the public.
Mr. McCombs proposes to exchange 204 acres of public land with highway access, for 178 acres of undevelopable land with no highway access. The RGNF has suggested if there is a difference in land values that Mr. McCombs make up the difference in cash.
According to the Feasibility Analysis and in careful review of the guidelines for a federal land exchange there are numerous contradictions in the RGNF decision to review this land exchange, most notably the fact that this area is highly valuable to the Lynx, a threatened and endangered species. The public interest guidelines suggest the land exchange complicates management and threatens the viability of the Lynx population.
These important issues along with impacts to recreation experiences associated with Wolf Creek Ski Area, the surrounding USFS lands, Weminuche Wilderness, water quality and quantity, wetland impacts, lynx, power generation, social and economic impacts of the development and size of interchange needed for access to Hwy 160 etc. will be addressed in the NEPA process. {Not to be overlooked are the health risks for potential buyers because of the extreme 10,000 elevation of the proposed housing.}
Friends of Wolf Creek will be following this process closely and will keep you up to speed on the latest developments as they occur. We will be asking for your assistance in the near future to help assure that this process moves forward in a fair and unbiased manner, and that the results are thoroughly scrutinized.
After more than 25 years of controversy, the proposed Village at Wolf Creek project has never received the fair, transparent, and honest appraisal that the public deserves. We believe that an honest appraisal will conclude the inappropriateness of Wolf Creek Pass for a large development, and ultimately will force the Forest Service to deny the land exchange.
See feasibility Analysis at www.fs.usda.gov/riogrande
Thank You,Colorado Wild
Paul Joyce
Colorado Wild
P.O. Box 2434
Durango, CO 81302
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