Date: October 19, 2004

CONTACT: Jamie Thompson, Public Affairs Officer, (775) 623-1500

BLM SELLS 880 ACRES OF PUBLIC LAND NEAR OROVADA

A total of 880 acres in four parcels were sold at a public auction held Tues., Oct 26 in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) office in Winnemucca. The parcels were sold to members of the public who placed winning bids either orally or in writing.

"We are very pleased that all the land offered was purchased," said Terry Reed, Field Manager of BLM's Winnemucca Field Office. "It is the goal of BLM in Nevada to balance land acquisitions and disposals, so that BLM does not substantially increase the number of acres of federal public lands it manages. This sale helps us to meet that goal."

The sale netted a total of $154,960 for an average of just over $176 per acre. The money will be used to offset the costs BLM incurred to conduct the sale. "Cultural inventories, land surveys, appraisals, and public notification costs are among the steps required before public lands can be sold," explained BLM Realty Specialist M. Lynn Trost, who conducted the sale.

Only lands determined to be suitable for disposal and in which interest has been expressed by the public can be offered for sale and the purchase price must be equal to or greater than the appraised value of the land. In the case of the lands sold near Orovada, the appraised value was determined to be $175 per acre.

"We are hoping to offer four land sales in 2005," said Bob Edwards, BLM Supervisory Realty Specialist in Winnemucca. "If all necessary procedural steps can be completed, we could be offering over 5,000 acres next year. The methods of sale have not yet been determined, but when they are we will inform the public through news releases and in postings on our website at http://www.nv.blm.gov/Winnemucca/  We hope the public response to our future land sales will be as successful as it was to the Orovada sale."

- BLM -