{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://tipton.house.gov/press-release/tipton%E2%80%99s-bill-increase-transparency-public-land-transfers-gets-hearing-endorsement-blm", "Tiptons Bill to Increase Transparency in Public Land Transfers Gets Hearing, Endorsement by BLM Witness", "2014-09-09", "2014", "2014-09", "Republican", "House", "CO", "Scott Tipton", "T000470", "tipton.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON\u2014Congressman Scott Tipton\u2019s (CO-03) legislation to increase transparency in public land transfers received a hearing in the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation today. Tipton\u2019s bill seeks to improve the transparency, oversight and notification of land exchanges involving U.S. Forest Service (USFS) lands or public lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).\nJose Lopez, a rancher and President of the New Mexico Cattle Growers\u2019 Association, testified in a July hearing that he had received no notification when BLM began buying-up and locking-down lands surrounding his property. The BLM\u2019s land transfers resulted in the decrease of his property value and loss of his ability to utilize his land.\u00a0 In his conversations with the local BLM, he learned that normally the BLM does not notify the adjoining landowners when they make agreements with certain nonprofits and others. Lopez stated, \u201cIf I had known about this before this happened we could have come to some agreement in doing a land exchange or something like that that would have benefited both of us.\u00a0 It\u2019s usually a hush-hush deal. They don\u2019t want anybody to know what they\u2019re doing, and so when I found out about all of these things it was after the fact.\u201d\nUnder the status quo, Mr. Lopez and many others have seen the value of their land plummet following land transfers, as the BLM views these pieces of land as \u2018inholdings.\u2019\u00a0\u00a0\nDuring today\u2019s hearing, when asked by Tipton if the BLM supports his bill, Karen Mouritsen,\u00a0Deputy Assistant Director for Energy, Minerals and Realty Management at BLM, responded, \u201cYes, we do support the intentions of this legislation.\u201d\n \n\t\u201cOf all people affected by the BLM's land exchanges, adjacent landowners have the most to lose.\u00a0 Loss of property values and land use patterns are certain risks.\u00a0 Anyone thinking of buying property near public land, or already owning it, needs to be fully informed about the BLM's intentions to sell or exchange the land surrounding it,\u201d said Tipton. \u201cH.R. 5074 speaks to something that Coloradans and Westerners have experienced for far too long\u2014federal land management agency secrecy. It seems to be commonsense that impacted landowners receive proper advance notification whenever the federal government is involved in a land exchange. This will increase accountability and transparency in federal land transactions and give affected neighboring landowners an opportunity to take action to protect their livelihoods.\u201d\n \nAdditional background on H.R. 5074 is available HERE.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://tipton.house.gov/press-release/tipton%E2%80%99s-bill-increase-transparency-public-land-transfers-gets-hearing-endorsement-blm"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9692879393696785, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}