As land prices in Colorado mountain resorts spiral ever upward, real estate speculators are discovering old mining claims in nearby national forests are as good as gold.
“Originally part of the national forests and other federal land, mining claims were carved out by prospectors and mining companies under the 1872 Mining Act, a still-standing federal law that allows the land eventually to be patented - turned over to private ownership and used for anything, which today includes houses, hotels and ski areas.
As our resort towns get overly crowded and built up, people are increasingly looking for their little slice of paradise," said Doug Robotham, Colorado director of Trust for Public Land, a nonprofit organization seeking to stem the modern-day incarnation of the land rush occurring throughout the West.â€
Some resort town planning agencies have developed unique density exchange programs with developers in an attempt to stanch housing sprawl into adjacent unspoiled national forestlands.
FULL STORY: Old claims being mined for new digs
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