The agency’s list released last week ranked the purchase in Garfield County ninth among 36 land acquisition projects, The Colorado Sun reports.

The Forest Service requested $8.5 million from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund.

The fund is supported by royalty payments from offshore drilling companies. In December, Congress allocated $495 million from the fund for 2020, the largest distribution in 17 years.

The Sweetwater Lake property is the largest request on the forest service’s $87.1 million list of priority projects.

“What often makes these things successful, in addition to being appropriate parcels, is having broad-based support and that is something we feel really good about,” White River National Forest Supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams said. “We have a wide range of governments, agencies and groups supporting this.”

Fitzwilliams hopes to partner with Colorado Parks and Wildlife to improve and maintain a campground and boat launch at the property if federal funding is approved.

“We are looking at a new type of shared stewardship with them and how we go about this,” he said.