WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) released the following statement after introducing H.R. 4473, the Cottonwood Land Exchange Act, at the request of Yavapai County Board of Supervisors, in order to facilitate a land exchange between the County and Coconino National Forest near Cottonwood, Arizona for the purposes of connecting separated tracts and consolidating land:
Today, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) released the following statement after introducing H.R. 4473, the Cottonwood Land Exchange Act, at the request of Yavapai County Board of Supervisors, in order to facilitate a land exchange between the County and Coconino National Forest near Cottonwood, Arizona for the purposes of connecting separated tracts and consolidating land:
“This bill represents years of conversation and meetings amongst Yavapai County officials, community members and the Forest Service. This commonsense legislation will yield significant benefits to the people of Arizona by consolidating multiple checkerboards of land. Currently, most of the current parcel owned by the county is unusable due to the presence of an endangered species. The current parcel that is owned by the Forest Service is surrounded by county and private land. This bipartisan bill is good for the County, good for the Forest Service, good for local species and most importantly makes the most efficient use of our land for the people of Arizona.”
Original cosponsors of Congressman Gosar’s legislation include: Trent Franks, David Schweikert, Matt Salmon, Martha McSally, Ann Kirkpatrick, Kyrsten Sinema and Ruben Gallego.
Yavapai County officials have been in discussions with the Forest Service for several years and recently passed a resolution in favor of advancing this mutually beneficial exchange. The isolated lot of National Forest land is an 80 acre island parcel not contiguous or adjacent to any other Forest or state land. It is surrounded completely by private or county land which is mostly residential in nature. The 369 acres which the Coconino National Forest would receive from the County will add value to the Forest Service system by connecting separated tracts and consolidating land already under the stewardship of the Forest Service.
