The politics of nature

Mr. Hill, here is one about the San Rafael land swap for ya Yeah,
I've travelled almost every canyon in the Swell, too, so I know these
issues as well. Get your goat?

Peace

Interior disciplines 4 behind proposed San Rafael Swell land swap
Salt Lake Tribune ^ | 12/12/2003 | Robert Gehrke


WASHINGTON -- The Interior Department has disciplined four officials
behind a Utah land swap and reformed its land appraisal process after
an investigation revealed they concealed details that showed the
exchange would have shortchanged taxpayers.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, had singled out the actions of the
attorneys and negotiators behind a proposed land exchange in Utah's
San Rafael Swell, saying they misled Congress and top Interior
officials. He also demanded to know whether the Interior Secretary
Gale Norton considered such behavior acceptable.

"The Department of Interior is responsible for ensuring that we
present accurate facts to the Congress, decision-makers and the
public," Norton's chief of staff, Brian Waidmann, wrote Wednesday in a
reply to Grassley.

In this case, Waidmann wrote, Congress should have been provided with
a clearer picture of the value of land being exchanged. But had
members of Congress or the public read two documents -- the
legislation and the agreement spelling out the swap -- the terms of
the exchange would have been clear.

Waidmann said appropriate personnel action has been taken by the
department but did not elaborate.

The department has also sought to restructure its appraisal process to
insulate appraisers from political pressures and install more checks
on the process.

"I appreciate that the secretary has been responsive to my concerns.
I'm satisfied with the action she's taken," Grassley said. He said the
land exchanges "need more scrutiny to ensure that land valuations are
fair and accurate, and that the taxpayer doesn't get the short end of
the stick."

The Utah land swap was intended to consolidate federal land in the
scenic San Rafael Swell to make it easier for President Bush to
designate the area a national monument.

But the deal was scuttled after Bureau of Land Management appraisers
in Utah told The Associated Press last year that the deal amounted to
a giveaway of as much as $117 million in valuable federal mineral
reserves on land being turned over to the state of Utah.

Last week, a letter from the Office of Special Counsel indicated that
the case had been referred to the Justice Department for possible
prosecution.

The letter cited "evidence of criminal violations" as a grounds for
not releasing a report prepared in response to allegations raised by
BLM appraiser Kent Wilkinson.

But Mary Monahan, a spokeswoman for the office, said this week that
the report in question was the Interior Department's inspector general
report, which has been available for months.

On Wed, 31 Dec 2003 09:46:18 -0800, "Chris HIll"
wrote:

Typical lying from the looney left. Just like all these wannabe political
analysts that know absolutely nothing except how to cut and paste tripe into
their brains and bother folks in an outdoor oriented newsgroup.