DNR and Blue Fern Agree to Cancel the Thorpe Land Exchange

Commissioner Dave Upthegrove Commits to Giving the Community Two Years to Find an Alternative Use for the Property

Today Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove announced that the State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Blue Fern Management, LLC (Blue Fern) have mutually agreed to cancel the Thorpe land transaction.

The transaction, in which the 200-acre Thorpe property in Latah Valley would have been exchanged with Blue Fern for a property containing a supermarket in Bellingham, generated much discussion in Spokane and the surrounding community.

With the cancelation, Thorpe will continue to be managed by DNR. Commissioner Upthegrove today also committed to providing community members with two years to propose an alternative for the Thorpe property that meets both DNR's responsibility to the trust and the needs and vision of the community.

"From early days of my administration, the community has asked for more time to find another plan for the property. We now have that chance," said Commissioner Upthegrove. "With this development, the community has ample time to find a different use for the property that will also meet the needs of the Trust."

The Commissioner noted that if a new solution cannot be agreed to within two years, DNR will again seeks its own resolution for the property.

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