DOI approved $100M land 'giveaway'

MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2002

Bush administration officials recently approved a massive land swap in Utah over the objections of Bureau of Land Management experts.

Under the deal, the Department of Interior exchanges 135,000 acres of federal land for 108,000 acres of state parcels. Political officials valued the trade at $35 million.

But senior BLM real estate appraisers said the federal land was worth $97 million to $117 million more than the state land. The area contains valuable oil, gas, coal, tar sands and oil shale deposits, according to documents provided to The Washington Post.

Get the Story:
U.S. Ignored Appraisers In Land Deal With Utah (The Washington Post 8/19)