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In the Media

Water piracy and wilderness politics threaten Nevada public lands

Congress Approves Nevada Public Lands Bill
(Los Angeles Times, November 18, 2004)
 

Stretching the boundaries: Land hunt expands beyond the Las Vegas Valley (Las Vegas Review-Journal, August 3, 2004)

 

Senator's bill would help friend's development plan
(Los Angeles Times, June 25, 2004)
 
Lincoln land bill draws criticism
(Las Vegas Sun, June 24, 2004)

 

Proposed Lincoln County development ripped
(Las Vegas Sun, June 17, 2004)

 

Opinion: Blame BLM corner cutting for delay in Lincoln County land sales (Las Vegas Review-Journal, April 18, 2004)
 

EDITORIAL: Putting people last: extremists give Lincoln County the shaft
(Las Vegas Review- Journal, March 26, 2004)
 

LINCOLN COUNTY: Land sale put on hold: Judge orders BLM to complete environmental impact statement
(Las Vegas Review Journal, March 25, 2004)

Federal judge blocks BLM land sale in Lincoln County
(Las Vegas Sun, March 25, 2004)
 

Projects could bring untapped water to LV within three years (Las Vegas Sun, February 27, 2004)

 

In plan, LV taps into Lincoln County water
(Las Vegas Sun, February 24, 2004)

Current events

New orders guiding federal land exchanges
(Salt Lake Tribune, January 8, 2005)
 

Arizona land swap dogged by questions
(High Country News, March 1, 2004)

 

BLM to auction Mesquite land
(Las Vegas Sun, February 3, 2004)

McCain receives earful on land trade
(Arizona Daily Sun, December 7, 2003)

 

Public land-swaps reveal firm’s clout: Some question fees, fairness (Denver Post, November 7, 2002)

 

Controversial firm gets OK to build plant
(Las Vegas Sun, September 19, 2003)

San Rafael land exchange cancelled! Interior officials implicated in corrupt land deal

Scandal-tainted worker was BLM teacher
(Salt Lake Tribune, December 31, 2003)
 

Clarke had Utah dealings despite recusal
(Salt Lake Tribune, November 17, 2003)
 

BLM boss's Utah ties part of probe
(Salt Lake Tribune, July 25, 2003)
 
Inspector General: Utah land swap was lopsided, would have cost federal taxpayers
(Associated Press, July 24, 2003)
 
Administration cancels swap of federal land with Utah
(Washington Post, July 24, 2003)
 

Senator Reid's land-deal dynasty

In Nevada, the name to know is Reid
(Los Angeles Times, June 23, 2003)

Wheeling and dealing in Idaho

Land talks heat up over Owyhee canyonlands
(Thrive, July 31, 2003)
 
Janine Blaeloch and Katie Fite: Owyhee negotiations could produce a dubious 'win-win' situation
(Idaho Statesman guest column, July 26, 2003)

 

Conservationists warn against Owyhee deal
(Salt Lake Tribune, July 13, 2003)
 

Panel on brink of Owyhee Canyons deal: Compromise on protection won't please everyone
(Idaho Statesman, July 12, 2003)

 

Deal in works to transfer public land to county in Idaho
(Salt Lake Tribune, June 23, 2003)

 

Preserve-grazing swap sought
(Salt Lake Tribune, June 17, 2003)

WLXP sues on Kentucky land trade

Environmental groups' lawsuit opposes trading forest tract to coal company
(Lexington Herald-Leader, April 8, 2003)

BLM land trades mired in investigations, scandals

Review shows land exchange appraisal flaw

(Salt Lake Tribune, May 24, 2003)

 

BLM addresses Utah land swap
(Santa Fe New Mexican, January 27, 2003)
 

San Rafael do-over chills BLM
(Salt Lake Tribune, January 20, 2003)
 

Interior asks for more time to study Utah land proposal (Salt Lake Tribune, December 20, 2002)
 

Key BLM appraiser in Utah deals transferred
(Salt Lake Tribune, October 18, 2002)

A U.S. agency is accused of collusion in land deals
(New York Times, October 12, 2002)
 
Review accuses BLM of land-swap politics
(Deseret News, October 11, 2002)
 
Interior Department reviews land exchanges
(Associated Press, October 11, 2002)
 
Norton ordered to probe Utah land swap
(Washington Post, October 1, 2002)
 
Land swap probe ordered
(Salt Lake Tribune, October 1, 2002)

Another Utah rip-off exposed

Hansen slips land swap through House
(Deseret News, October 2, 2002)

House passes land swap (Salt Lake Tribune, October 2, 2002)

San Rafael proposal amended
(Salt Lake Tribune, September 13, 2002)

Schools would gain little in land swap
(Salt Lake Tribune, September 30, 2002)
 
BLM lists risks of land deal
(Salt Lake Tribune, August 31, 2002)

EDITORIAL: Cannon fodder
(Salt Lake Tribune, August 22, 2002)

EDITORIAL: Land exchange/a troubling example from Utah (Minneapolis Star Tribune, August 22, 2002)

U.S. ignored appraisers in land deal with Utah
(Washington Post, August 19, 2002)

BLM agent seeks safety for talking
(Salt Lake Tribune, August 20, 2002)

Whistle-blower says Cannon trying to punish him
(Deseret News, August 21, 2002)

BLM whistleblowers are standing up for American taxpayers (Salt Lake Tribune op-ed, August 4, 2002) responding to...

Critics of land deal protecting their turf
(Salt Lake Tribune op-ed, July 28, 2002)

Utah-U.S. land swap runs into roadblock
(Deseret News, July 25, 2002)

Critics blast land-swap deal (Deseret News, July 19, 2002)

Land-swap deal under fire (Salt Lake Tribune, July 19, 2002)

WLXP helps scuttle national forest giveaway

Eastern lawmaker seeks land giveaway-in L.A.
(Los Angeles Times, June 21, 2002)

Mt. Wilson Observatory turf war ends
(Los Angeles Times, July 3, 2002)

Mormon Church maneuvering for control of Wyoming public land

Setting the stage for a giveaway?
(Casper Star Tribune, May 14, 2003
 

Group opposes Martin's sale
(Deseret News, November 14-15, 2001)

Hansen's sale logic questioned
(Salt Lake Tribune, May 7, 2002)

No sale for Martin's Cove
(WLXP op-ed, Casper Star Tribune, May 19, 2002)

Cubin: missed vote due to traffic
(Casper Star Tribune, June 20, 2002)
 

More News

Environmental groups sue BLM to stop Lincoln County land sale (Associated Press, June 27, 2002)

"Olympic Snowjob," the story of the scandalous Snowbasin land exchange that slid through Congress on the greased skids of the Olympic Games.... Hear the Western Land Exchange Project on National Public Radio. Weekend Edition,  February 3, 2002. To listen to the 8 1/2 minute program, download the QuickTime Player and then click here to select the report from NPR's web page

US agency accused of inflating land appraisals
(Los Angeles Times, December 20, 2001)

BLM appraiser will keep his job
(Deseret News, December 19, 2001)

2 groups want BLM official out
(Deseret News, December 3, 2001

Huge land swap OK'd
(Seattle Post-Intelligencer, November 21, 2001)

EDITORIAL: No bidders for Lincoln land: Delaying tactics by environmentalists stifles BLM auction
(Las Vegas Review-Journal, October 22, 2001)

Lincoln County land auction fizzles
(Las Vegas Review-Journal, October 13, 2001)
See our News page for more info!

Big bidders stay quiet at auction of Lincoln land
(Las Vegas Sun, October 15, 2001)

CFV back on legal ropes
(Arizona Daily Sun, September 19, 2001)

Environmental group calls for land-trade reform
(Las Vegas Sun, July 27, 2000)

"The future of land swaps," a radio program from Seattle's KUOW, July 26, 2000. Features WLXP director Janine Blaeloch, Rep. Jay Inslee, and Undersecretary of Agriculture Jim Lyons. To listen, download the QuickTime audio player, then select the program from KUOW's webpage here

Ruling opens swap documents; decision may change how land deals are made
(Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA, July 25, 2000)

GAO report blasts land exchange programs

Guest column: Land trades fraught with problems
(Seattle Post-Intelligencer, July 25, 2000)

Editorial: Let's make a land deal
(Washington Post, July 15, 2000)

Land exchange program hurts public, GAO says (Washington Post, July 13, 2000)

Auditors call for end to agencies' land swaps
(The Review-Journal, Las Vegas, July 13, 2000)

U.S. loses in land deals, auditors say
(Los Angeles Times, July 13, 2000)

Rep. Miller urges halt to swaps of U.S. land; audit finds private interests reap huge profits
(San Francisco Chronicle, July 13, 2000)

Audit details improper practices by Forest Service, BLM (Seattle Times, July 13, 2000)

Land swap critics resist ban (Seattle Times, July 14, 2000)

Utah West Desert Land Exchange

Rep. Hansen's West Desert land exchange shortchanges the public (WLXP commentary in Salt Lake Tribune, June 25, 2000)

Trouble in St. George

Investigators find problems in 8 Utah land deals
(Deseret News, May 21, 2000)

Trouble over land trades (Deseret News, May 20, 2000)

Are Utah land deals ripping off the U.S.?
(Deseret News, May 14, 2000)

And elsewhere....

SPI's agreement to suspend logging has holes
(The Union, Nevada City, CA, April 22, 2000

Odd allies shake up Weyerhaeuser
(Seattle Post-Intelligencer, April 19, 2000)

Environmentalists move to block sales of public land proposed in Clinton plan (Wall Street Journal, February 11, 2000)

Clinton proposal to buy, sell land draws suspicion (Spokesman-Review, February 16, 2000)

Snowbasin Land Exchange

For an excellent archive of news stories and other information on the Snowbasin land exchange deal, visit Save Our Canyons, a group dedicated to the protection of Utah's Wasatch Mountains.

Bruce Babbitt, land dealer

Inside tract: How builder Del Webb maneuvered to win prime Las Vegas parcel
(Wall Street Journal, January 16, 1998)


Proposed land swap warrants look at parcel values (Western Land Exchange Project guest column, Arizona Republic , April 19, 2000)

Land Sakes! Clinton Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt lays claim to an environmental legacy. Too bad it's a monumental disappointment.
(Phoenix New Times, March 22, 2001)

Interstate-90 Land Exchange

New Plum Creek land-exchange deal pleases environmentalists (Seattle Times, November 4, 1999)

Plum Creek drops two parcels from land exchange (Columbian, November 4, 1999)

Land swap to exclude Watch Mountain
(Longview Daily News, November 4, 1999)

Timber firm, U.S. agree to land deal
(Seattle Post-Intelligencer, November 3, 1999)

Deal struck on I-90 exchange
(Associated Press, November 2, 1999)
 

Plum Creek sues activists over land swap
(Seattle Times, October 17, 1999)


Buy or shrink? Greens split on land swap
(Seattle Times, September 1, 1999)

Who is watching plants and animals in forests?
(Seattle Post-Intelligencer Editorial, August 10, 1999)

Eager for land deal, feds missed rare birds
(Seattle Post-Intelligencer, August 9, 1999)

Bird foils big timberland swap (Seattle TImes, July 22, 1999)

Trading Away the West: a Seattle Times investigative series on land exchanges

(Seattle Times, September 27 through October 1, 1998)
Click here to read this award-winning series on the federal land trade programs

Spokesman-Review on Clearwater's Idaho Land Trades

Details of land swap emerge: land costing $1.55 million later sold to public for $8.75 million (Spokesman-Review, August 29, 1999)

Idaho group urges caution in land swaps; public should know what it's giving up, says former Forest Service worker (Spokesman-Review, May 18, 1999)

Group wants moratorium on land swaps; speaker tells forum that taxpayers inherit problems (Spokesman-Review, May 9, 1999)

Idaho land broker withdraws proposal (Spokesman-Review, March 31, 1999)

BLM wants to ax huge land swap; deal involves agency land, but managers left out of discussion (Spokesman-Review, March 30, 1999)

Past ripoffs stir concern about land swap; federal investigator points out deals that left Forest Service on the short end (Spokesman-Review, March 28, 1999)

Huge land swap proposed; Idaho broker crafts trade that may involve 2 million acres (Spokesman-Review, March 16, 1999)

Huckleberry Land Exchange

Huge land swap OK'd (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, November 21, 2001)

Forest swap put on hold: Court says exchange favored Weyerhaeuser (Seattle Times, May 20, 1999)

It's back to drawing board for land swap (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, May 20, 1999)

Court blasts Forest Service land trade; Weyerhaeuser ordered to stop logging (Spokane Spokesman-Review, May 20, 1999)

Court seeks reevaluation of Weyerhaeuser land swap (Seattle Times, May 19, 1999)

Weyerhaeuser tells court it's too late to revoke USFS land swap (Seattle Times, March 11, 1999)

USFS refuses to reconsider Weyerhaeuser land deal (Seattle Times, March 8, 1999)

Miscellaneous Articles

Green vs. Green: Environmentalists clash over CFV as no-compromise idealism collides with pragmatic search for solutions (Arizona Daily Sun, November 22, 1999)

Proposed swap of Catawba land falls through (Roanoke Times, June 4, 1999)

Feature article: Wheeling and dealing (High Country News, March 29, 1999)

USDA official questions land deal (The Roanoke Times, March 25, 1999)

Catawba surveys questioned officials to review Forest Service claim of no significant archaeological sites (The Roanoke Times, December 2, 1998)

Congress' land swap will be first of many, conservationists fear (Seattle Times, November 1, 1998)

Catawba land-swap investigation expanded; inspector validates concerns of residents (The Roanoke Times, October 11, 1998)

USFS inspector expands investigation of land deals (Seattle Times, October 8, 1998)

Land swaps under scrutiny (Seattle Times, August 28, 1998)

More Resources

Here are some links to newspapers that cover land exchanges. Many have searchable archives. Recommended key terms are "land exchange," "land swap" and/or the names of agencies and corporations involved in trades. Note: a few papers require that you subscribe to a service to download archives. In these cases, you will have to pay a small fee to download an article in its entirety.

Seattle Times

Las Vegas Review-Journal

Arizona Republic

Los Angeles Times

Salt Lake Tribune

Deseret News (Utah)

Oregonian

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Denver Post

Missoulian

Also

Headwaters News Service, an excellent daily compendium of news from the Rockies, with links to articles on issues affecting public lands and the West at large

Environment News Service

High Country News


 

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