Village at Wolf Creek opponents sue to undo Forest Serviceland swap

More than 100 people showed up for a Sept. 20, 2011 Forest Service tour of the area where aproposed village would be developed on Wolf Creek Pass. The publicly owned meadow in the photowould be transferred to private ownership under a proposed land exchange by the village developer,Texas billionaire B.J. "Red" McCombs. (Denver Post file)

A coalition opposed to a proposed village atop Wolf Creek Pass has sued the U.S. Forest Service toblock an agency-approved land swap that connects the planned development with a major highway.

The Forest Service last month approved a deal that swapped 205 federal acres on Wolf Creek Passfor 177 acres of wetlands atop the pass.

The swap, which the Forest Service studied for five years, delivered Texas investor B.J. "Red"

McCombs the land he needed to connect his parcel of private property on the pass with U.S. 160.McCombs has spent almost 30 years planning the Village at Wolf Creek, a community of as many as1,700 units and more than 8,000 people.

The lawsuit, filed by Rocky Mountain Wild, the San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council, the San JuanCitizens Alliance and the Wilderness Workshop, claims the Forest Service failed to be transparentand follow federal environmental law when it approved the land swap with McCombs.

Calling the wildlife-rich land on Wolf Creek Pass "one of the most biologically important in theSouthern Rockies," the lawsuit seeks to reverse the exchange.

The Forest Service "privatized federal land and granted access necessary to build a massive resortdevelopment without considering or taking the steps necessary to reduce and eliminate impact tothe surrounding National Forest System Lands," according to the 72-page lawsuit.

Rocky Mountain Wild attorney Matt Sandler said the land exchange was completed without "full andtransparent analysis of the impacts that is required by law."

"These laws are in place to protect the public interest; this Forest Service decision protects theinterests of big business and billionaires," Sandler said in a statement.

The lawsuit scrutinizes several aspects of the land swap approval by Rio Grande National ForestSupervisor Dan Dallas.

The lawsuit is critical of Dallas' assertion that he had to provide access to the remote parcel of landaccording to federal law. The lawsuit claims he ignored reports that were critical of the land swap.The suit also claims "unlawful political interference and influence pervading the Forest Service's ...decision making process."

Village at Wolf Creek president Clint Jones said he is frustrated by the lawsuit. Village opponents, hesaid, in 2010 promised not to sue once the Forest Service finished the Environmental ImpactStatement reviewing the land swap.

"They didn't get the result they wanted, so they broke their commitment. I think the Forest Servicedid a very commendable job. I think this one was done right and in compliance with the law, andthey can make every excuse in the book, but we are going to move forward," Jones said. "I do notthink their legal claims will prevail in court."

Jones said the groups do not speak for the public. A majority of residents surrounding the project aresupportive, he said.

"All these guys are doing is slowing down the opportunity to create jobs out there, opportunities thatare lost the longer this drags out," Jones said.

Jason Blevins: 303-954-1374, jblevins@denverpost.com or twitter.com/jasonblevins

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