opinion

Our Voice: Agua Caliente, BLM strike good land swap deal

It’s been quite a long path taken, but it appears the now clearer final destination in this situation is one that should please all concerned.

After about two decades of talks, the Bureau of Land Management and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians apparently have settled on a land exchange that they say will better align parcels of land they each own and manage in the desert region.

What should be the final deal was released in late January. We like what we see.

The draft proposal for this deal that was being promoted in January 2015 was much different than what has been presented as the final plan. Back then, we agreed with many in the Palm Springs community that the deal in the future could threaten public access to popular hiking trails above Palm Springs, including the Skyline Trail west of downtown and the Garstin Trail southeast of the city.

That plan initially envisioned more than 7,000 acres in all exchanging hands. What has been presented now is much less expansive. As The Desert Sun’s Barrett Newkirk reported, this final proposal calls for the BLM to exchange 2,560 acres of federal land in the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument for 1,471 acres of nearby tribal land. In addition, the U.S. government will pay the Agua Caliente tribe $50,000 to compensate for the difference in value of the subject lands.

The main concern that we shared with the community under the much larger draft proposal was the inclusion of two parcels that would have affected popular trails as well as another stunning setting high above the city. The fear back in 2015 was that the tribe at some point could decide to close access to these areas so popular with the public or even go so far as to develop them with luxury homes or in some other way.

MORE: What the deal means to Coachella Valley nature lovers

2015 OUR VOICE EDITORIAL: Pull two Palm Springs parcels from swap

As a sovereign nation, the tribe has broad power over what it does with the land it controls. We said as much in our January 2015 Our Voice editorial urging the removal of the two most troublesome parcels from the deal. More to the point, the BLM acknowledged that, yes, whatever deal was made would not control decisions for the lands involved in perpetuity.

“Looking down the road, neither the BLM nor the tribe can commit to the same management practices they do now,” Jim Foote, manager of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monuments, said back then. “We can look to the near future and say changes are highly unlikely, but we can’t commit to no change.”

All parties should be pleased that the new, smaller swap follows what both the BLM and the tribe have said is the actual intention of the negotiation – to connect “checkerboard-plotted” parcels held by both entities to improve management practices. We expect this move will help the two in this pact — the BLM and the Agua Caliente — to continue managing these valuable lands in the best interests of themselves and the people they serve.

In this case it appears that the concerns voiced by many in the community made a difference in the long process and helped bring about a good final decision.

The BLM is accepting comments and protests at AguaCalienteExchange@blm.gov. on this final version for 45 days, a period that ends on March 12. The actual deal will not be completed until the protests are addressed, the BLM says.