WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema today released the following statement after the announcement of a public lands bill that includes Arizona priorities she has long championed:
“This bill will help create Arizona jobs and affordable, renewable energy. We’ve been working to solve these challenges for years, and I’ll keep working until these Arizona priorities are signed into law.”
The public lands legislation announced today includes bipartisan legislation previously led by Sinema affecting La Paz County, Arizona—a county in Western Arizona defined by the Colorado River, the vast Arizona desert, and a massive federal footprint. This bipartisan bill helps facilitate a land transfer from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to the County. Specifically, it directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey 8,800 acres of Federal Land to La Paz County for the purposes of economic development opportunities and facilitating renewable electricity generation.
The Cottonwood Land Exchange—also previously championed by Sinema—would swap 83 acres of Forest Service land to Yavapai County in exchange for 369 acres of county-owned inholding Coconino National Forest, and is also included in the bill.
The public lands bill also includes legislation addressing the Udall Park Land Exchange, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Land Conveyance, the Black Mountain Range and Bullhead City Land Exchange, among others.