Colorado Ranch Owner Seeks Congressional Action for Federal Land Swap Amidst Local Opposition
A private ranch in Colorado, Out of Bounds Ranch, is pursuing a legislative land exchange that would privatize approximately 2,100 acres of federal public land near Carbondale in exchange for a similarly sized private parcel north of Rifle. The ranch owners, B. Scott Smith and Tiffany Smith, have bypassed the standard Bureau of Land Management (BLM) administrative process, which they claim would take over a decade and is not a priority for the agency. Instead, they have engaged with U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd to draft a bill, named the Greater Access for Multiple-Use Experiences (GAME) Act, to authorize the swap. The Smiths have spent $200,000 on lobbying efforts and donated $14,000 to Rep. Hurd's re-election campaign. The proposal has generated significant community pushback, particularly from homeowners adjacent to the BLM land and local public land users who fear losing access to popular hunting and recreational areas. Despite local opposition, two of the three Garfield County Commissioners approved a resoluti...
