On November 9 the Mammoth Community Facilities Land Exchange (aka “McFlex”) in California was completed! As a result of this exchange, 12.5 acres of National Forest within the Town of Mammoth Lakes were conveyed to a variety of agencies providing important community services. These include the Southern Mono Healthcare District (Mammoth Hospital), Mammoth Fire Protection District, Town of Mammoth Lakes, Mono County and the Superior Court. Acquisition of the National Forest parcels was an important step towards enhancement of public services in the community.
In exchange for the 12.5 acres of National Forest, the public received 3,061 acres of outstanding resource lands in three National Forests in California Within the Inyo National Forest the public received 151 acres at Tub Springs located at the base of Kearsarge Peak near the Town of Independence; 10 acres within the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest; 279 acres along the eastern shoreline of Mono Lake within the Mono Basin National Scenic Area; and, 9 parcels totalling 910 acres on the northern escarpment of the Glass Mountains in Mono County. In addition, over 1700 acres were added to the Eldorado and Tahoe National Forests along the Rubicon and Middle Fork of the American Rivers. All of these lands were identified as high priority acquisitons by the Forest Service.
Completion of this complex land exchange required the commitment, active involvement and supreme patience of a wide variety of entities including the community agencies in Mammoth, the Forest Service, and the owners of the non-Federal parcels that have now been conveyed to the United States. It was an extraordinary effort that further demonstrates the opportunities presented by and importance of the Federal land exchange program.
McFlex was the third major land transaction completed with the involvement of WLG in Mammoth over the past several years. The others were the Snowcreek Land Exchange completed in February 2005, and acquisition of 12 acres of National Forest for expansion of Mammoth area schools under the Educational Land Grant Act in April 2005. WLG is proud of its contributions to the quality of life in the Mammoth area. At present, we are working on several other land exchanges in the Mammoth area.
