House passes 2 land-trade bills

The House passed Monday two land trade bills sponsored by Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, designed to help the tiny town of Mantua, and the Utah National Guard's Camp Williams. Both bills also passed the House in the last Congress, but the Senate never acted on them.

One bill, which passed on a voice vote, would transfer a checkerboard of 431 acres of federal land already within the boundaries Camp Williams and its training ranges to the state of Utah and the Utah National Guard.

"The state of Utah has outgrown the amount of land it owns within the camp for which there can be buildings," Bishop told the House. "Land that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management owns would be transferred to state for the building of facilities."

The other bill, which passed 396-1, would give to small Mantua, Box Elder County three parcels of Forest Service land totaling 31.5 acres for public purposes. Bishop said the town is considering using it for such things as expanding a cemetery and building a new town hall, fire station, park and a school.

Bishop said the land was originally given to the Forest Service 60 years ago for $1 and "the Forest Service forgot they had the land. It was not part of their inventory. It is surrounded by land that is either private or in control of the city already. The land has limited value for the federal government, but has a major for public purposes for the city of Mantua."

Bishop added, "Part of it borders the cemetery, and they are in desperate need of expanding that cemetery. They are also in desperate need of creating a new fire station … as well as a new town hall."

Both bills now go to the Senate for consideration.