Checkerboard Challenge Land Exchange

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There are more than 24 million federally owned acres in checkered or fractured ownership across the Western United States. The Checkerboard Challenge Land Exchange is a land exchange opportunity between Private Landowners, State Land Agencies, and Federal Agencies, primarily the Bureau of Land Management. The goal of the Checkerboard Challenge Land Exchange is to eliminate and conserve portions of checkered ownership lands and consolidate public, state trust land, and private holdings. Unique in structure and implementation, the Checkerboard Challenge Land Exchange is a worthwhile endeavor for Private Landowners, State Trust Lands, and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM.) Structured as a Legislative Land Exchange, the Checkerboard Challenge Land Exchange offers Private Landowners, States, and Federal Land Managers an effective solution to exchange lands and eliminate checkered land ownerships. 

Across the west, the checkerboard land configuration has created frustration and legal issues for federal land managers, private landowners, states, and the public. The Checkerboard Challenge offers a simple, cost effective and transparent method to eliminate checkered ownerships across the west to the benefit of private landowners, federal agencies, states, and the public.

Range Rescue, LLC the proprietor of the Checkerboard Challenge Land Exchange seeks to enroll and exchange up to twenty-five percent, or 6.2 million Private and State-owned acres located throughout the checkered configurations across the western United States for an estimated 6.2 million Federal acres of similar lands on a value for value basis.  The end game goal is to consolidate checkered lands across the west into larger more manageable and profitable blocks of single owner land.  In addition, the Checkerboard Challenge seeks to enroll and exchange 2.5 million acres of State-owned severed mineral rights located under Federal land for Federal mineral rights located under State land.  The Checkerboard Challenge will also offer a Conservation Easement Program with a goal of conserving in perpetuity 719,000 acres.  Private landowners with existing and exchanged land assets which have high environmental, cultural, historical, or wildlife values will be encouraged to participate in the Conservation Easement Program.

The Checkerboard Challenge will focus on Wyoming, Nevada, Montana, Idaho, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and California. 

Checkerboard Challenge Land Exchange 10 Year Objectives:

· Secure and enroll 25% or 2.85 million acres of fractured ownership private land in the Checkerboard Challenge Land Exchange.

· Secure and enroll 25% or 3.3 million acres of fractured ownership state land in the Checkerboard Challenge Land Exchange

· Secure and enroll 25% or 2.5 million acres of State severed mineral right ownership and exchange for federal minerals rights on a value for value basis

· Exchange enrolled private and state lands for similar BLM lands on a value for value basis.

· Enroll 25% or 719k private exchanged acres in the USDA Agricultural Conservation Easement Program offered through the NRCS.

Proposed as a Legislative Land Exchange and Conservation Easement project, Legislative Branch support is central to the success of the Checkerboard Challange Land Exchange.  Range Rescue, LLC proposes the Checkerboard Challenge Land Exchange and Conservation Easement venture be fully funded with reoccurring annual funding for the 10-year life of the Checkerboard Challenge.  Requested Congressional funding would include reimbursements in the form of grants to participating Private and State landowners.  It is believed Private and State landowners will be more inclined to participate in the Checkerboard Challenge if their investment in minimal.  This approach will achieve maximum positive results and help achieve our goal of consolidating and conserving checkered lands.

Enrollment assumptions:

2,874,750 acres or twenty five percent of private land in checkered configurations across Wyoming, Nevada, Montana, Utah, and Arizona will be eligible for enrollment in the Checkerboard Challenge Land Exchange.

3,318,000 acres or twenty five percent of State-owned land in checkered configurations across Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and California will be eligible for enrollment in the Checkerboard Challenge Land Exchange.

2,500,000 acres of State-Owned severed mineral ownership will be eligible for enrollment the Checkerboard Challenge Land Exchange.

718,688 acres or twenty five percent of private land exchanged across Wyoming, Nevada, Montana, Utah, and Arizona will be eligible for enrollment in perpetual conservation easements facilitated by Range Rescue, LLC utilizing the USDA Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) offered through Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Range Rescue, LLC on behalf of The Checkerboard Challenge Land Exchange has partnered with the Partnership of Rangeland Trusts (PORT) for this endeavor. 

PORT provides the Checkerboard Challenge with integral components necessary for the success and completion of the Checkerboard Challenge Land Exchange.

Partnership of Rangeland Trusts contributions:

· PORT is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. This status allows them to directly receive and distribute Congressional appropriations.

· Work with state affiliates to implement and hold conservation easements funded by the USDA / NRCS Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP).

· Establish and administer a grant program to provide Private Landowners and States with grants from Congressional appropriations for approved improvements and reimbursements.

Economic Viability

· Investment in United States federal assets

· Up to 30% increase in assembled land and mineral values

· Rural economic development

· Jobs creation

· Increased green energy potentials

· Increased fluid and solid mineral development potentials

· Stakeholder engagement

· Increased agricultural production and revenues

· Increased recreational revenues

· Potential for newly developed recreational areas

· Improved management efficiencies on federal and private lands

Environmental and Social Sustainability

· Increased public recreational opportunities.

· Historical and cultural preservation

· Potential improvements to wild horse and burro management areas 

· Threatened and endangered species conservation

· Native landscape preservation

· Watershed protections

· Public input and acceptance

Range Rescue, LLC is seeking support and approval of Congressional Delegations to pass legislation and appropriations for the implementation and lasting through completion of the Checkerboard Challenge. As the timeline for completion of proposed exchanges and accompanying conservation easements is 10 years, annually reoccurring funding will be necessary to continue solicitating larger private landowners across the west to participate in the Checkerboard Challenge and to fulfill our proposed obligations. 

Once legislation is passed, Range Rescue, LLC will work directly with all levels of BLM in the selection of lands to be exchanged and secure annual commitments from enough private landowners to create a project with enough economy of scale to merit the pursuit of Congressional Legislative Exchanges. Annual land exchanges will include an average of 619,275 Private and State acres from landowners and states across the West with holdings in checkered and fractured ownership to exchange for similar lands with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). These land exchanges will primarily be based on value for value agreements. The goal of the Checkerboard Challenge is to eliminate portions of the checkered land ownership. Landowners will benefit from better management strategies and utilization of larger contiguous parcels versus checkerboard ownership. The BLM will benefit in more efficient management and increased public use values on large blocks of federal land.

To answer questions and gain public support, Range Rescue, LLC will host several local public hearings and town hall meetings in areas where exchanges are occurring. Legal notices announcing the proposed exchange and townhall style public hearings will be published in local newspapers and sent to local, State and Federal public officials including County Commissioners, the Congressional Delegations, and other Agency Officials. Comments on the Checkerboard Challenge Land Exchange may be submitted to local BLM offices or directly to Range Rescue LLC for 45 days following the publication of public notices. Comments and possible remedies received by Range Rescue, LLC will be considered for inclusion in the final proposals submitted for BLM and Congressional approval.

Federal, State, and Private Landowners with holdings in the checkerboard face management challenges including limited access, and challenges from environmental organizations, the public, and in some cases, government entities. We offer an opportunity to exchange private land with federal land to establish large blocks of private and public land thus eliminating many of the management challenges of operating and managing land in the checkerboard landscape.

Private Landowners and State Land Management Agencies will be required to sign a binding Letter of Intent. The Letter of Intent will provide Range Rescue, LLC, and Lawmakers with tangible documentation and verification of Private Landowners and State Agencies participation in the Checkerboard Challenge Land Exchange. Compensation to Range Rescue, LLC, will come directly from Private Landowners and States who participate in the Checkerboard Challenge. 

Significant considerations to proposed land exchanges and accompanying conservation easements.

Ø Serves Public Interest

Ø Increased Values of Land and Minerals

Ø Social Acceptance

Ø Similar Land Values / Fiscally Responsible

Ø Improved Federal and Private Management Efficiencies

Ø Rural Economic Development

Ø Conflict Resolution 

Ø Socioeconomic and Economic Development

Ø Improvements in Sustainable Agriculture

Ø Mineral Production

Ø Green Energy Production

Ø Conservation of Wildlife Values

Ø Cultural and Historical Preservation

Ø Environmental Protections

Ø Public Access and Recreation 

Range Rescue, LLC provides facilitators who know the process, have contacts in BLM at the local, state, and federal level, and have experience with completing a Congressional action land exchange.  The structure and scale allow Range Rescue LLC to facilitate the Checkerboard Challenge Land Exchange for a fraction of the cost of standard land exchanges. We believe in an effective and open planning process from the initiation of the project, meeting with local and county representatives, the public and adjacent landowners to ensure the project is clearly understood and the benefits to all identified, will prevent issues and concerns as the project progresses. We believe in complete transparency and have found that even if we have to agree to disagree over certain issues, that transparency builds credibility, which, in most cases, provides success.