Editorial: Auctions are best choice

Friday, July 14, 2000 | 9:48 a.m.

The federal government's land exchange program has been a mess at times. On occasion sweetheart deals have gone to big developers, who have received choice, government-owned land for prices far below what they're worth. At other times it simply has been ineptitude by the federal agencies as they fail to get thorough appraisals that fully account for the land's actual value. This means, then, that taxpayers have been the losers. On Wednesday the General Accounting Office released a report detailing many of these boondoggles, most of which were found in Nevada.

The GAO, which is Congress' investigative arm, is recommending a halt to all land exchanges by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service, a proposal rebuffed by both agencies. So Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., believes Congress should impose a moratorium. "Land deals are being cut behind closed doors with tremendous special-interest pressure and limited public input," Miller said. He added that both agencies "are failing to protect the public's wallet and their environment."

Still, it would appear to be extraordinarily difficult to place a halt to all land exchanges and simply auction off these available lands to the highest bidder. Indeed, there are some remote areas in the West where finding a willing buyer through an auction wouldn't be feasible. Auctions, however, should be required in urban areas where land is a precious commodity and has the potential to draw many interested buyers.

Congress should take a look at legislation, which passed with the support of Nevada's congressional delegation, that overhauled how these land exchanges take place in our state. In response to the problems encountered in Nevada, the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act of 1998 replaced land swaps with direct purchases. The money from the sale of BLM land in urban Las Vegas goes into a fund that is then used to pay Nevada property owners the fair market value for their environmentally sensitive lands.

There certainly is a need for the federal government to sell some of its lands, which increasingly in the West are becoming landlocked, as urban areas continue to spread outward. The GAO's report should jump-start the long overdue dialogue on how to best accomplish the twin goal of not only getting the most money from these land deals, but also in ensuring that environmentally sensitive lands are set aside for future generations.