Newhouse introduces bill to make federal lands sales easier

Freshman U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse introduced his first bill Thursday, a reauthorization of a program that enables federal agencies to sell surplus federal lands. The bill gives the Bureau of Land Management the ability to sell public lands that have been approved for sale to states, local governments or private owners who can put the lands to economic use. Proceeds from the sales are then available to fund the purchase of other lands that provide conservation or recreation benefits near national parks, forests or wildlife areas. The program also provides the funding for the agency to appraise and sell land. The Federal Land Transaction and Facilitation Act was first passed by Congress in 2000 but expired in 2011. During the years the act was in place, the BLM sold about 27,000 acres of surplus lands, and the proceeds were used to buy 18,000 acres to add to national forests, recreation and conservation areas, according to the news release from Newhouse...more