Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (D, Colo.) says he will
introduce legislation to condemn a developer’s dream house built in
Colorado’s West Elk Wilderness – if the Forest Service rejects a
proposed land exchange with the developer. A Campbell spokeswoman
said the senator wants to give the Forest Service another tool to
deal with Tom Chapman, who built a $1 million log cabin in the
heart of the West Elk Wilderness last year. In return for the West
Elk inholding, regional forester Elizabeth Estill reluctantly
agreed to trade Chapman 105 acres near the Telluride ski area (HCN,
10/18/93). However, the town of Telluride, the San Miguel County
Commissioners, the Board of Realtors, a local environmental group
and numerous others appealed that decision, arguing that Chapman
had blackmailed the agency into giving away prime real estate worth
millions of dollars. In a Feb. 4 letter to Forest Service Chief
Jack Ward Thomas, Campbell endorsed the appeal, and offered to lead
the condemnation effort should the exchange be disapproved.
Campbell said it was “important to show those who would follow
Chapman’s example that there are those who are outraged at his
actions.”
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Campbell sides with Telluride.
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