Rainbow Trail Land Exchange

The Need To Own Our Site
Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp is a holy place for so many people and has become a precious gift of the Church.  Yet the land on which Rainbow Trail is located is not owned by the Church, but by the federal government as part of the San Isabel National Forest.  Since its inception Rainbow Trail has leased land from the Forest Service.  This arrangement is concerning for several reasons, including:
 
1.The possibility our lease would not be renewed or even terminated if the Forest Service perceives a better use for the property;
2.Some day the existence of a religious organization located on public lands may become controversial, thereby threatening the security of Rainbow Trail’s lease.
3.Because we are on public lands, we cannot limit stranger access to our site. This could become a safety issue.
4.Operating the camp can be difficult with the federal government as landlord. For example, it is anywhere from a six month to two year process to make any significant change to our buildings on the site.

Ownership of the property would protect the camp’s investment of $4 million in buildings to date.  And by owning our site, we will guarantee that Rainbow Trail will be available for generations to come.  

How to Acquire the Site from the U.S. Forest Service
The Forest Service does not have the authority to conduct an outright sale of National Forest lands.  A land exchange is the only method for acquiring federal lands such as the site on which Rainbow Trail currently resides.    

To complete an exchange, Rainbow Trail needs to secure private lands on the San Isabel National Forest with high public values that the Forest Service is interested in acquiring.  Once private lands more or less equal in value to the federal lands at the Rainbow Trail site are found, a formal exchange proposal will be submitted to the Forest Service, beginning the 64 step land exchange process.  The process culminates in the Forest Service issuing a patent to Rainbow Trail and Rainbow Trail deeding the private lands it secured to the federal government.

The Forest Service has indicated that it would be interested in conveying 80 acres to Rainbow Trail in order to create a logical management boundary.  The 80 acres includes Rainbow Trail’s existing 19-acre site and
extends north of the ballfield to the Forest boundary and east to the Lake Creek Campground.  


The Availability Of This Land
In January of 2013, our land exchange consultant contacted a landowner whose 120 acre parcel is located within the San Isabel National Forest on the east side of the Wet Mountains.  After several conversations, the owner allowed us to have the property appraised so that we had an idea of the value of the property.  Though the owner was not initially excited about selling the property, they embraced the idea and decided to sell.

This 120-acre inholding property is extremely attractive to the Forest Service as the entrance to the property crosses through a Lynx habitat that has been disturbed because of the plowing of the road in the winter.  They would love to return that area to its natural state.

The Opportunity Before Us
After careful deliberation, the Rainbow Trail Board unanimously voted to enter into a purchase contract for the land in late May, 2013.  Our original offer was countered and the Rainbow Trail Board countered that offer.  On January 16, 2014 the Rainbow Trail Board approved the purchase price of $630,000. On February 19, 2014 Rainbow Trail closed on the non-federal land and we are now landowners! Since then, we have been waiting for the Forest Service to have the time and personnel to address our exchange.

At a meeting in early February of 2018, the Forest Service suddenly requested that Rainbow Trail submit its proposal for the Locke Park Land Exchange. Since then, we have been working feverishly to finalize our land exchange proposal.  On April 6, 2018 Rainbow Trail submitted its draft exchange proposal for the Forest Service to determine the cost collection agreement (the bill) for the Forest Service to complete its internal feasibility analysis for the exchange.  That feasibility analysis began in July of 2019. The feasibility analysis will run through May of 2021.  If the feasibility analysis comes back affirmative, the land exchange will be approved.  Once approved, the next step in the process will be signing an Agreement to Initiate (ATI) the exchange with the Forest Service.  Then the 64 steps in the land exchange process, which includes legal notices, request for public comments, field studies, appraisals, and environmental reports, will get underway.  The hope is that the land exchange would be completed by 2023!
 

How Can You Help?
Rainbow Trail will need to provide additional funds after the Agreement to Initiate is signed to cover the Forest Service’s cost to process the exchange.  In order to have the needed funds to begin the exchange by June, 2021, we are going to start raising the remaining balance we need to complete the land exchange process.  We estimate we still need to raise is around $183,000. This will cover the Forest Service’s staff, costs to process the exchange, consultant fees, biological and archaeological studies and reports, and appraisal reports.  We continue to ask for your prayers and your financial support.  If you gave to the land purchase, I hope that you will consider giving an additional gift for the future of RTLC.  Your contributions at this stage will help us see this process to fruition.  If you haven’t given yet, consider making a special gift for the future generations that will be a part of this ministry. I would love to have a more in-depth conversation with you and explain more about this once in a lifetime opportunity. You can reach me by email at dave@rainbowtrail.org or by phone at 719-429-1377. Help us make Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp our Home At Last!