Rep. Ortiz introduces state version of Mental Health land trade

Deer Mountain is seen during a break in the snowstorms on March 7. (Photo by Pam Davies)While waiting for federal legislation to expedite a land exchange between the U.S. Forest Service and Alaska Mental Health, state officials are working on a companion bill in the Alaska Legislature.
Rep. Dan Ortiz of Ketchikan introduced House Bill 155 to help move the land trade forward. The bill would approve exchanging about 18,000 acres of Mental Health land for about 20,000 acres of Forest Service land.