Case Study: Land Exchange

Goldfields Mining Corp. wished to develop a project in the Mojave Desert in California.  To obtain necessary federal, state, and local agency approvals, Goldfields obtained lands valuable for the endangered Desert Tortoise and exchanged those lands with the Bureau of Land Management for lands necessary for project development.  We have also successfully completed land exchanges with the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management on behalf of ski resort developers and ranchers, such as a recent land exchange where our client obtained lands within and adjacent to Vail.  Some of the major issues we have confronted in land exchanges are determining fair market value of the exchange lands, including underlying mineral rights; conflicts between appraisals; challenges to supporting NEPA documents; and disputes with landowners and those who oppose activities expected to occur after the land exchange is completed.