{"id":96741,"date":"2018-12-11T17:29:54","date_gmt":"2018-12-12T00:29:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/developers-of-village-at-wolf-creek-take-another-hit-in-attempt-to-reinstate-land-swap\/"},"modified":"2018-12-11T17:29:54","modified_gmt":"2018-12-12T00:29:54","slug":"developers-of-village-at-wolf-creek-take-another-hit-in-attempt-to-reinstate-land-swap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/developers-of-village-at-wolf-creek-take-another-hit-in-attempt-to-reinstate-land-swap\/","title":{"rendered":"Developers of Village at Wolf Creek take another hit in attempt to reinstate land swap"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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A rendering of the proposed Village at Wolf Creek. On Tuesday, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied an attempt to dismiss a federal court judge\u2019s ruling that a land swap to give access to the proposed resort was done in violation of law.<\/span>Courtesy of U.S. Forest Service<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

An appeals court Tuesday dismissed the latest attempt from the would-be developers of the Village at Wolf Creek to throw out a federal judge\u2019s ruling that a land exchange to give the proposed resort village access was done in violation of federal law.<\/p>\n

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled it does not have jurisdiction to hear the appeal and dismissed it.<\/p>\n

In May 2015, the U.S. Forest Service\u2019s Rio Grande office approved a land exchange with Leavell-McCombs Joint Venture, which gave the developers the access they have lacked for nearly 30 years to build a new resort village atop Wolf Creek Pass.<\/p>\n

But the decision was immediately challenged by a coalition of environmental groups, known as the Friends of Wolf Creek, which said the Forest Service violated the National Environmental Policy Act and other federal regulations in its decision-making.<\/p>\n

In May 2017, a federal court judge agreed, saying the Forest Service skirted its \u201cresponsibility to protect the forest by making an attempt at an artful dodge\u201d when it approved the land swap.<\/p>\n

A first appeal of the federal court judge\u2019s ruling by the Forest Service and Leavell-McCombs Joint Venture in September 2017 was denied. In October 2017, Leavell-McCombs Joint Venture filed an appeal with the next tier of the federal court system, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Forest Service chose not to join this appeal attempt.<\/p>\n

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\n 10th Circuit Wolf Creek ruling
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