Land swaps sought to get mineral extraction going

By Matt Singer, 5-27-05

Land swaps have been proposed in both Arizona and Utah for the purpose of opening up lands for mineral development while protecting other environmentally sensitive laws.

The Arizona Republic reports that that Senator Jon Kyl and Representative Rick Renzi, both R-Arizona, have introduced legislation to transfer a little over 3,000 acres of federal land to a copper company in exchange for the copper company giving some land over to the federal government. The land being given to the company is prime rock-climbing land and has recreationists a bit a upset. Climbers are such a whiny group.

Meanwhile, in another reverse Sagebrush Rebellion, Utah Senators Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett have proposed transferring 40,000 acres of state lands to the federal government. The amount of lands transferred to the state is not finalized yet according to Deseret News. Unlike the Arizona proposal, Utah environmentalists are supportive of this move. Who knows if that will change once Hatch and Bennett make it clear what federal lands they'd be releasing.

It turns out that federal management of lands is popular with states, who seem averse to picking up the tab.

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