Federal Agencies Plan to Swap Control of Western Land

The Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management on Wednesday announced a plan to exchange 34 million acres of land in 11 Western states, including California, that the agencies say will consolidate holdings and save millions of dollars in administration costs.

The transfers of 19.6 million acres to the Agriculture Department’s Forest Service from the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management and 14.4 million acres from the service to the bureau could save $25 million to $35 million a year when fully completed in two or three years, the agencies said.

One-time implementation costs would be between $35 million to $45 million, making the swap “extremely cost-efficient” in the long run, officials said.

The Forest Service would control California lands in a peninsula-shaped pattern extending from the Oregon border to the center of the state and taking in the coast from Ft. Ord to the Mexican border. Most of Southern California and the extreme north coast, west-central and southeastern parts of the state would be under the Bureau of Land Management.

Users of the land, such as lumber companies, ranchers and miners, should get better service by dealing with one agency instead of two, Max Peterson, chief of the Forest Service, said at a news conference with Agriculture Secretary John R. Block.

“There is a duplication of effort that creates red tape for people using adjoining lands,” Block said. “A rancher leasing lands from both agencies must handle each in a completely different way. It can become very confusing.”

Peterson said each agency has offices in 71 cities where one office would suffice if activities were consolidated. The two agencies expect to eliminate 700 to 1,200 employees by attrition, he added.

The agencies together have about 40,000 employees and spend a combined total of $2.5 billion to $3 billion a year, Peterson said.

The swaps are based on geography, with one agency or the other taking over where it is dominant.

The land bureau would wind up in charge of almost all of Nevada, southeastern Oregon, southern Idaho, eastern Montana, western North Dakota, northwestern South Dakota, western Arizona and northeastern Arizona, almost all of Wyoming, a small strip of western Colorado, northwestern New Mexico, most of southern New Mexico and Utah except for a north-south strip running down the middle of the state.

The Forest Service would have the rest, including all of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and Washington, and 75,000 acres of scattered bureau tracts in states to the east.

Legislation will be sent to Congress in June changing the designation of the lands. Meanwhile, the agencies must follow existing land use plans and honor valid existing rights and permits, Peterson said.

The plan is already facing opposition from Rep. Morris K. Udall (D-Ariz.), chairman of the House Interior Committee. “Something as sweeping as this plan is likely to shortchange revenue to local government, shrink the economic base, disrupt the fabric of Western communities, and have dangerous implications for good land management,” Udall said.