Dallas pipeline billionaire Kelcy Warren agrees to swap land with Forest Service

Kelcy Warren’s Boot Jack Ranch in Colorado will fork over 880 acres to the San Juan National Forest following a land swap agreement with the federal government. Warren, co-founder and executive chairman of Dallas-based Energy Transfer, will get in return 379 acres of public land and $30,000 from the U.S. Forest Service. Warren bought the 3,151-acre ranch outside Pagosa Springs for $47 million in 2010. An independent appraisal by William B. Love Appraisals valued Warren’s 880-acre Valle Seco parcel at $3.08 million, $30,000 more than the value of the public land. The Forest Service requires an exchange of equal value within a 25% margin, requiring them to pay the difference between the two properties. The Forest Service said it wanted Warren’s land to protect “important elk and mule deer” habitat. The region is an important corridor for elk and mule deer migration, a point raised by environmental groups that opposed the swap.

Boot Jack Ranch is surrounded on three sides by the San Juan National Forest and Weminuche Wilderness, key natural areas that include seven miles of the West Fork of the San Juan River and Wolf Creek. The Forest Service’s environmental assessment claimed that if the land exchange wasn’t approved, Warren planned to develop Valle Seco into an elk farm and hunting lodge, and that he would apply for year-round motorized access. By exchanging the property, the Forest Service said it was saving those 880 acres from development. “Acquiring [Valle Seco] will prevent development of the parcel if it stays in private ownership,” according to the agency. Conservation groups worry that Warren will shift his development from Valle Seco to the public land once the exchange takes place. The public parcel is part of a designated roadless area buffering the edge of the South San Juan Wilderness area. The area remains roadless to encourage big game migrations to move through the area unimpeded by traffic.