GRAND JUNCTION – A federal land agency has proposed transferring federal lands to the state of Colorado to pay off a government debt dating back more than a century and is now seeking comment about the proposal.
The Daily Sentinel reports that the Bureau of Land Management has proposed giving 28 square miles of federal lands and minerals and another 9 square miles of federal mineral estate to the state.
Officials from the state Board of Land Commissioners said a petition was filed for land and mineral estate in lieu of land never previously received.
They said the land proposed for exchange wouldn’t impact access to public lands used for recreation purposes. They added that existing oil and gas leases would also remain in effect under the proposal.
Federal officials said the transfer would satisfy the debt it owed the state in 1876 after it joined the union after the Revolutionary War.
Officials said the state never got that land because it was included in an Native American reservation or forest reserve or national forest.
Federal officials are accepting comments about the proposal until Dec. 23.
