The U.S. Forest Service may be getting a green light to sell some properties, but the plan could have disturbing results.
The underlying problem is that the Forest Service is short on cash. Its budget has been a mess for years – in fact, its accounting is so convoluted that it has failed past government audits. Congress also chronically shortchanges the agency’s operations.
Against this backdrop, the U.S. Senate, at the Bush administration’s behest, included language in an appropriations bill to let the Forest Service auction off thousands of parcels of national forest. Some of the properties may truly be surplus, but others have important public uses and shouldn’t be sold.
A conference committee will take up the bill this week. Colorado’s congressional delegation should tell the panel to remove or restrict the Forest Service’s authority to sell the parcels.
Thousands of federal properties could be at stake, but the concerns can be illustrated with three Colorado examples. Each of these deals could eliminate existing public access to fishing or boating spots on popular rivers. There’s a crying need in our state for more recreational access to rivers and streams – local and state wildlife and open-space agencies have put millions into obtaining just such properties. So it would be absurd if the Forest Service undercut these efforts by selling off existing access points.
One property in Eagle County straddles the Eagle River. The parcel, named Mountain Meadow, is near a popular recreation trail that serves as a gateway to the Holy Cross Wilderness and is heavily used for winter recreation like sledding. Far from being surplus, it’s the kind of property the Forest Service ought to keep. Indeed, selling the site could encourage trophy homes to be built on what’s now open space.
Another parcel that may be offered for sale is on the Eagle River near Minturn, and it raises similar concerns. A third site near the Eagle-Pitkin County line is on the Roaring Fork, one of Colorado’s most renowned boating and fishing streams.
We don’t oppose the general idea that a government agency wants to sell some property, but the process should protect the public’s long-term interest.
The Forest Service should hold public hearings on all proposed sales to determine whether the properties should remain in public ownership. The feds should give state and local agencies the first right to buy any parcels. Moreover, the Forest Service shouldn’t sell any properties unless the deals guarantee continued public access to the waterways.
