The land, administered by the Bureau of Land Management, is mainly near the community of Gold Hill. BLM is reviewing the county’s offer to pay the fair market value for the 2,500 acres.

“We are currently in the scoping process of considering this proposal. We’re at the very beginning right now, but hopefully we will reach a decision in a few weeks,” said Jan Fackrell, realty specialist for the BLM in Colorado.

As part of the 1986 BLM Resource Management Plan, BLM provides for selling some of its land to other federal, state and local agencies, or to the private sector.

“Boulder County has a lot of interest in acquiring this land because it helps block private ownership, which is a high priority for Boulder County residents,” said Pete Fogg, manager of the long-term planning division at county Land Use department.

“It also creates open space in the mountains which residents have been concerned about. The proposal would benefit everyone involved,” Fogg said.

The BLM administers approximately 3,000 acres of land in Boulder County, with 800 acres of that land adjacent to the Town of Ward and approximately 2,200 acres in and around the community of Gold Hill.

Ward and the BLM tentatively agreed for the transfer of approximately 500 acres to that town, but the future of the remaining land in Ward and the 2,200 acres in the vicinity of Gold Hill are still under review.