Feds scouring ND oil patch for gravel parcel swap

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service is working to find a gravel-rich parcel of federal land in western North Dakota to swap with a Montana businessman.

Roger Lothspeich (LOTH'-speech) gave up a controversial plan to mine rock near the site of Theodore Roosevelt's historic Badlands ranch in July — if the federal government trades him a site of equal value.

Forest Service minerals program manager Mark Sexton says it hasn't been easy identifying land for the trade somewhere within the 1.2 million acres the federal government owns in western North Dakota.

Sexton says the agency wants to ensure any new site won't create a "ruckus."

Lothspeich says he has not set a deadline for the land swap. But he believes it should be done within the next year.

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