A Colorado nonprofit says the Bureau of Land Management ignored its appeal when the federal government moved to finalize a land exchange in Summit and Grand counties earlier this month.

The land exchange in question is proposed by Blue Valley Ranch, which is owned by billionaire Paul Tudor Jones II. Located along the Blue River, the exchange trades nine parcels of federal land totalling 1,489 acres for nine parcels of private land totalling 1,830 acres. It was first proposed in some form in 2001, with the stated purpose of addressing the “checkerboard nature” of ownership in the area.

Colorado Wild Public Lands, a nonprofit that calls itself a “land exchange watchdog” has long been opposed to the deal. The nonprofit wrote a 24-page protest of the exchange and filed an appeal with the Interior Board of Land Appeals after the federal government overruled its protest last year.

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Brian Lorch, the executive director of the nonprofit Colorado Wild Public Lands, wrote in an email last week that the Bureau of Land Management’s decision to finalize the exchange while the appeal is ongoing makes “a sham” out of the appeals process.

The appeal claims that the Bureau of Land Management violated several provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act when it approved the land exchange in 2023.

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“The (Bureau of Land Management) ignored numerous laws and policies in reaching the deal and stealthily closed on the real estate transaction before the (Interior Board of Land Appeals) even ruled on its legality,” Lorch said in a news release.

Lorch said that Colorado Wild Public Lands asked the Interior Board of Land Appeals to stay, or temporarily stop, the land exchange last summer, but the board reportedly declined to do so. He said the nonprofit plans to continue to battle the exchange, starting by asking the appeals board again for a stay to the land exchange.

“This struggle for continued public enjoyment of the Blue River isn’t over yet,” Lorch said. “We plan to continue appealing this deal; the (Interior Board of Land Appeals) is still reviewing our challenge, and if that fails, District Court is the next step.”

But Bureau of Land Management Colorado communications director Steven Hall said Jan. 27 that it is not uncommon for land exchanges to be finalized while an appeal is ongoing with the Interior Board of Land Appeals. He pointed to the example of the Sutey Land Exchange, which was completed in 2017.

Colorado Wild Public Lands unsuccessfully challenged the Sutey land exchange in federal court. In that case, the Bureau of Land Management also took action to finalize the deal while an appeal was pending, Hall said.

The Blue Valley Ranch land exchange has seen widespread support from Colorado officials. County commissioners in both Grand and Summit counties have voiced support of the land exchange, and Colorado Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper have also expressed their approval.

The Colorado Headwaters Chapter of Trout Unlimited has also supported the land exchange, stating that river restoration proposed as part of the exchange would benefit the Blue River and the Colorado River.

Blue Valley Ranch has said that the public gains more from the land exchange than it loses. As part of the exchange, the ranch has agreed to cover the costs of river restoration work for a three-quarter-mile stretch of the Blue River near its confluence with the Colorado River, pay for the creation of the Confluence Recreation Area with more than 2 miles of new walking trails and wheel-chair accessible fishing platforms, and provide Summit County with $600,000 for new open space acquisition.

For those who float the river, a permanent, seasonal takeout and rest stop near the Spring Creek River Bridge will be constructed, with another rest stop 3 miles downstream from the bridge, as well. The exchange will also result in more than a mile and a half of hike-in access to the Blue River that is currently inaccessible except by floating.

But Colorado Wild Public Lands has raised concern that the land exchange is only taking place because it was proposed by a wealthy landowner and argued that the exchange is not in the public interest. 

The nonprofit has noted that the public lands being exchanged have been well-loved, including by local anglers. In its appeal, the nonprofit claims that land appraisals completed as part of the land exchange process undervalue the public land involved in the exchange and that the deal does not include conservation easements strict enough to protect natural resources in the area.

“Throughout the West, multi-millionaires are pursuing — and getting — sweetheart deals with the federal government to expand their vast private holdings,” Colorado Wild Public Lands said in a statement. “In these deals, the public often loses not only valuable public lands but also access to surrounding recreational opportunities.”

But Blue Valley Ranch spokesperson Robert Firth said in a statement Monday that Colorado Wild Public Lands has already raised these arguments and that the Bureau of Land Management thoroughly considered them before finding they didn’t have merit. 

Firth said Blue Valley Ranch looks forward to the decision by the Interior Board of Land Appeals regarding the appeal by Colorado Wild Public Lands.