Notice2026-00509
Notice of Realty Action: Noncompetitive (Direct) Sale of Public Land in Moffat County, CO
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
January 14, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentLand Management Bureau
Abstract
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is proposing a non- competitive (direct) sale of 2.13 acres of public land in the Little Snake Field Office to Moffat County. The sale would resolve an inadvertent unauthorized use of public land. The sale would be subject to the applicable provisions of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA), as amended, and the BLM land sale regulations. The surface estate would be sold for no less than the appraised fair market value of $17,000.00.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 9 (Wednesday, January 14, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 14, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1553-1554]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-00509]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[A2407-014-004-065516; #O2509-014-004-125222]
Notice of Realty Action: Noncompetitive (Direct) Sale of Public
Land in Moffat County, CO
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of realty action.
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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is proposing a non-
competitive (direct) sale of 2.13 acres of public land in the Little
Snake Field Office to Moffat County. The sale would resolve an
inadvertent unauthorized use of public land. The sale would be subject
to the applicable provisions of the Federal Land Policy and Management
Act of 1976 (FLPMA), as amended, and the BLM land sale regulations. The
surface estate would be sold for no less than the appraised fair market
value of $17,000.00.
DATES: Interested parties must submit written comments no later than
March 2, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Mail written comments to Robert Swithers, District Manager,
Northwest District Office, 455 Emerson Street, Craig, CO 81625, or
submit them online via the BLM National NEPA Register at <a href="https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2038945/510">https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2038945/510</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kymm Hampton at the above address, or
by telephone at 970-826-5089, or by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b2d9d5c0d7c1c1d7c6f2d0dedf9cd5ddc4"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="23484451465050465763414f4e0d444c55">[email protected]</span></a>.
Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of
hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or
TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. Individuals
outside the United States should use the relay services offered within
their country to make international calls to the point-of-contact in
the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Browns Park School is in far
northwestern Colorado, closer to the Utah and Wyoming borders than to
any major Colorado city. For many years, the Browns Park School
property was assumed to be owned by Moffat County. It was discovered in
1994 that the buildings were inadvertently placed on Federal public
land in the 1940s and Moffat County only holds ownership over the
buildings and associated improvements. After many years of negotiation,
the BLM proposes to offer the land for direct sale to resolve the
issue.
The following described public land in Moffat County has been
examined and found suitable for sale under the authority of sections
203 and 209 of FLPMA, as amended.
Sixth Principal Meridian, Colorado
T. 9 N., R. 102 W.,
Sec. 2, lot 36;
Sec. 3, lot 24.
The area described contains 2.13 acres, according to the
official plat of survey of the said land, on file with the BLM.
The above-described land was segregated on September 14, 2020, from
all forms of appropriation under the public land laws, including the
mining laws, except for the sale provision of the FLPMA (85 FR 56627).
Upon publication of this notice and until completion of the sale, the
BLM will not accept land use applications affecting the identified
public land except applications for the amendment of previously filed
right-of-way applications or existing authorizations to increase the
term of the grants in accordance with 43 CFR 2807.15. Pursuant to 43
CFR 2711.1-2, the land will not be sold until after March 16, 2026.
The proposed sale is in conformance with the BLM Little Snake
Resource Management Plan, approved in October 2011, as addressed on
page RMP-52 under Management Actions: Allowable Uses and Actions. The
mineral potential is unknown and the mineral estate would not be
conveyed, in accordance with section 209 of FLPMA. A parcel-specific
environmental assessment (EA), document number DOI-BLM-CO-N010-2025-
0032-EA, was prepared in connection with this realty action and may be
viewed at <a href="https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2038945/510">https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2038945/510</a>.
Existing historical structures make the subject parcel difficult for
the BLM to manage. Under the FLPMA section 203, disposal of the subject
parcel is allowable because existing characteristics are difficult and
uneconomic to manage and disposal of the tract will serve important
public objectives, including but not limited to, expansion of
communities and economic development.
[[Page 1554]]
In accordance with 43 CFR 2710.0-6 and 43 CFR 2711.3-3(a), direct
sales (without competition) may be utilized, when in the opinion of the
authorized officer, a competitive sale is not appropriate and the
public interest would best be served by a direct sale, including a
tract identified for transfer to State or local government or nonprofit
organization; or a need to resolve inadvertent unauthorized use or
occupancy of the lands. In this case, a direct sale is appropriate
because the subject parcel contains inadvertent unauthorized location
of historical structures significant to the history of public schools
in Moffat County. The county intends to use the property for public
education and to enhance tourism in the area.
The BLM considered the minimal acreage to create a manageable
boundary to include land needed to protect existing improvements and to
resolve the inadvertent unauthorized use. The BLM may serve the
public's interest through resolution and receiving fair market value
for the subject parcel.
The conveyance document, if issued, would include the following
terms, covenants, conditions, and reservations:
1. A mineral reservation to the United States for all minerals;
2. A reservation to the United States for ditches and canals
constructed by authority of the United States under the Act of August
30, 1890 (43 U.S.C. 945);
3. A reservation for water power rights subject to the conditions
and limitations of section 24 of the Federal Power Act of June 10,
1920, as amended (16 U.S.C. 818), and subject to the stipulation that,
if and when, the lands are required in whole or in part, for power
development purposes, any structures or improvements placed thereon
which shall be found to obstruct or interfere with such development
shall, without expense to the United States, its permittees or
licensees, be removed or relocated insofar as is necessary to eliminate
interference with power development;
4. Valid existing rights issued prior to conveyance;
5. An appropriate indemnification clause protecting the United
States from claims arising out of the purchaser's use, occupancy, or
operations on the conveyed land; and
6. Additional terms and conditions that the authorized officer
deems appropriate.
The EA, appraisal, maps, and environmental site assessment are
available for review at the location listed in the ADDRESSES section
earlier. Interested parties may submit, in writing, any comments
concerning the sale, including notifications of any encumbrances or
other claims relating to the parcel (see ADDRESSES).
The BLM Colorado State Director will review adverse comments
regarding the parcel and may sustain, vacate, or modify this realty
action, in whole or in part. In the absence of timely objections, this
realty action will become the final determination of the Department of
the Interior.
In addition to this notice of realty action, a sale notice will be
published once a week for 3 consecutive weeks in the Craig Daily Press.
Only written comments submitted by mail or online via the BLM National
NEPA Register will be considered as properly filed (see ADDRESSES).
Electronic mail, facsimile, or verbal comments will not be considered.
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personally identifiable information in your comments, please note
that the BLM may make your entire comment--including your personally
identifiable information--publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold your personally identifiable
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
(Authority: 43 CFR 2711)
Douglas J. Vilsack,
BLM Colorado State Director.
[FR Doc. 2026-00509 Filed 1-13-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-16-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on January 14, 2026.
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