Opposition forms to proposed land swap legislation involving BLM, USFS, and USNPS lands in Colorado
GRAND JUNCTION — A land swap involving one of the richest men in the world and a congressman who enjoys hunting on the ranch has stirred up local controversy and riled a national land-exchange watchdog group.
U.S. Rep. John Salazar introduced a bill in April that would give energy magnate Bill Koch just over 1,840 acres of Bureau of Land Management land and a 3-acre sliver of Forest Service land in Gunnison County for Koch giving the National Park Service 991 acres in Dinosaur National Monument and the Curecanti National Recreation Area.
The trade was initiated more than two years ago by Koch — the world's 316th richest man, according to Forbes, and Salazar's most generous campaign contributor.