Public Participation in the Land Exchange Process

Public involvement is an important part of the exchange process from beginning to end.

  • Public participation is specifically and statutorily provided in the Federal Land Exchange Facilitation Act and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act.
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  • The Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service produce comprehensive plans that guide all activities, including land exchanges, on federal lands. These documents involve extensive public participation through advertising notices, public meetings and verbal and written comments. Public awareness is further guaranteed through newspaper and other media coverage of land exchange proposals.

Federal agencies, through a public process, identify for acquisition those lands that best suit their mission and identify for disposal those lands that least suit their mission. These lands are identified in land use and resource management plans. Federal land exchanges are based on what is identified in these public documents.

When federal and private land is identified for a possible land exchange, another public involvement process is triggered.

  • This evaluation is a second, more detailed review of fish, wildlife, water, botany, minerals, cultural and other important public values.
  • This second evaluation analyzes the most current information available and also involves considerable public input through an Environmental Assessment (EA) or an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

Land exchanges are only completed when federal land managers, charged with protecting the public interest, determine that the environment and other important public values are enhanced.

Most of us in the "third party" land exchange business are facilitators of these "land tenure adjustment" transactions that seek to implement what the public has already identified as desirable for acquisition or suitable for disposal.

In short, land exchanges receive greater public and environmental scrutiny than any other land management activity undertaken by federal agencies.