Washington County schools to acquire nearly 50 acres of BLM lands

Contact: Rachel Tueller 435-865-3032

St. George, Utah—April 16, 2009—On April 16, officials from the Bureau of Land Management St. George Field Office will present administrators from Washington County School District with a patent for nearly 50 acres of land in Bloomington Hills, Utah.  The transfer will take place at the Washington County School District facilities complex.

In regions such as Washington County Utah, steady growth and economic constraints often limit municipalities from acquiring land to build facilities for schools and administrative buildings that serve communities.

“From our perspective it’s a win-win situation,” said Marshall Topham, Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education, Washington County School District.

In December of 1983, the two entities signed a lease agreement under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act to begin the process.  Today, the land is home to several school facilities including the district’s transportation department, the shipping and receiving storehouse, the cafeteria and foods distribution center and Bloomington Hills Elementary.  In August 2008, the district also added a maintenance building which serves the district needs.

Several schools throughout the county rest on lands obtained through the BLM’s Recreation and Public Purposes process including Snow Canyon High School, Heritage, Horizon, Washington and Coral Cliffs Elementary Schools.

“We have continually gone back to BLM for support—it wouldn’t have been possible to house that many facilities without the help of the BLM,” said Topham.

For the Washington County School District, the Recreation and Public Purposes program has enabled the district to keep up with the continual needs the region’s growth brings with it.  Recreation and Public Purposes agreements pave the way for municipalities to obtain land, otherwise unavailable or unaffordable, which may then be used for a number of community- oriented purposes including schools and libraries, museums, hospitals, parks and recreation facilities.

 “It’s a good opportunity for us. We appreciate the opportunity to work with the federal government and this program where public land can be set aside to build schools,” Topham said, “We feel like they are a big support to us.”

To date, the BLM has approved approximately 329.43 patented acres to the Washington County School District.

The BLM manages more land – 256 million acres – than any other Federal agency.  This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska.  The Bureau, with a budget of about $1 billion, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation.  The BLM’s multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.  The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.