We are looking at this seriously, although it would be wildly above our operational capacity and we promise absolutely nothing. Also, simply acquiring the land would be a huge coup... developing it in any way would be even more difficult, and here's why:
A structure that might work well to purchase the land is something similar to what the Pacific Crest Trail Association did to acquire the other private parcel closer to Stevens pass that was for sale. They raised funds privately to purchase the land, with the understanding that the parcel would be purchased from them by the Forest Service with funds from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Unfortunately, the LWCF funds were appropriated for firefighting, leaving the PCTA holding the land until at least the next year (with, one assumes, the associated tax burden). They think it is likely that they will get the funds this year.
Unfortunately, the deadline for fiscal year 2019 LWCF project proposals has already passed, so it would be fiscal year 2020 at the earliest. It's also worth noting that with the previous project the PCT access was threatened, which has huge resonance with many donors, whereas losing Jim Hill isn't exactly the shuttering of the Haute Route. Also, the point of the LWCF is that the Forest Service ends up with the land, and we as CBA would just be a placeholder to prevent private acquisition. Thus, we would likely not develop the land in any way unless that would increase the likelihood of acquiring federal funding.
We will look for some way to gauge funding interest but I suspect we will have a very hard time acquiring $1m, even if it is to be paid back through the LWCF.
Hopefully more encouraging news to follow as we look into it more.
