Congressman Paul Cook of Yucca Valley has introduced a bill that would exchange 71 acres of county-owned land in Big Bear with 73 acres of federally owned land there. A spokeswoman for Cook said that HR 5513, the Big Bear Land Exchange Act, was introduced at the request of Big Bear residents. The proposed land swap would facilitate the construction of a recycling facility to locally process materials ranging from concrete to dead trees that now have to be hauled down the mountain. The recycled material could then be used as road base for paving and repairing mountain roads. Local recycling would significantly reduce traffic on the roads up and down the mountains, increasing public safety and reducing wear and tear to the roads. Additionally, it would significantly reduce diesel emissions due to truck traffic, which is one of the reasons that local environmental groups are supporting this bill. One provision of the bill requires that a portion of Pacific Crest Trail be relocated. A map of the land swap can be found with this story at z1077fm.com.
