Stewarding Colorado Trust Lands for Generations A Report from the Colorado State Land Board on Stewardship Programs and Activities SPRING 2020
We are the second largest landowner in Colorado.
The state of Colorado spans 66.5 million acres. The State Land Board owns 2.8 million surface acres (pictured below in blue) and 4 million sub-surface acres (pictured below in orange), making us the second largest landowner in our state.
2.8M surface acres
4M
sub-surface acres
Front cover photo: The Little Snake River passes through the State Land Board’s Nipple Rim property in Moffat County.
OF TRUST LAND ACREAGE IS SPECIALLY DESIGNATED INTO THE STEWARDSHIP TRUST
Greetings,
What you’ll find in this report Agency History....................................................2 Agency Leadership.............................................3 Funding Colorado Schools...............................4 Leases on Trust Lands........................................5 Stewardship Mandate.........................................6 Stewardship Tools...............................................7 The Stewardship Trust.......................................8 Colorado Natural Areas Program..................10 Asset Management Plans................................12 Stewardship Action Plans...............................13
It’s often said, “take care of the land and the land will take care of you.” Responsible stewardship matters to the Colorado State Land Board because state trust lands need to generate revenue not only for today’s students, but also for future generations of school kids. In this report you’ll find information about the tools and programs we use to enhance sound stewardship of our land assets. We are thrilled to have expanded our team by adding a new position, Stewardship Trust Manager, dedicated exclusively to the oversight of the properties designated into in that program. The position joins our Conservation Services Manager and our 20-person field staff team in monitoring the stewardship of our land assets.
Lessee Stewardship Award.............................. 17
The successes and forthcoming opportunities you’ll read about have been the result of strong teamwork and partnerships. We are grateful to our Commissioners, exemplary staff, hardworking lessees, engaged citizens, and our many partners across the state.
Research/Partnership Projects......................18
Thank you.
Grazing Strategies.............................................14 Leasing Stipulations.........................................16
Rare Plants..........................................................19 Ecosystem Services.......................................... 20
C ONTACT US! 303.866.3454 slb.colorado.gov Photo Right: Wind turbines on trust land property in El Paso County. Four percent of Colorado’s renewable energy megawatts are generated on trust land. Colorado’s first wind turbine was erected on trust land in the 1990s.
Bill Ryan Director, State Land Board
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Mission and History ■ MISSION The State Land Board manages an endowment of assets held in perpetual, intergenerational public trusts for the financial support of Colorado’s public schools and other public institutions.
Generate reasonable and consistent income over time.
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Protect and enhance the long-term productivity and sound stewardship of working trust lands.
■ VISION Make possible capital funding for the modernization of all Colorado public schools.
Rooted in Our Country’s Founding Our agency was created at statehood (1876) when President Ulysses S. Grant signed Proclamation 230 to make Colorado the 38th state to join the Union. Through the Colorado Enabling Act, Congress gave federal land grants to Colorado to support public beneficiaries—primarily public schools.
Aspen forest and trail on state trust land
The Colorado State Land Board has been funding Colorado’s public schools since statehood. This schoolhouse was operational in Gilpin, CO, circa 1900. Courtesy of the Gilpin History Museum.
Leadership Our agency is led by a Board of Commissioners. The Board is made up of five citizen volunteers, chosen by the Governor, and confirmed by the Colorado State Legislature. Commissioners are appointed to four-year terms and are limited to two consecutive terms. Our Commissioners are fiduciaries who hold a legal relationship with our beneficiaries — primarily schoolchildren — to prudently take care of trust assets. Our agency was founded at statehood (1876). The Colorado Constitution requires that four of the five Commissioners have substantial experience in four separate areas: public K-12 education, production agriculture, local government, and natural resources. The fifth Commissioner serves as a citizen-at-large. No more than three Commissioners may be from the same political party.
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number of offices throughout the state
Commissioners do not represent the interest of a particular sector. They represent the interest of the beneficiaries. Commissioners are supported by 45 agency employees who are located in seven offices throughout the state. Learn more about our leadership @ slb.colorado.gov/about-us/leadership
Nokhu Crags, State Forest State Park, Jackson County
Our Board of Commissioners
Gary Butterworth
Josie Heath
Tyler Karney
Christine Scanlan
John M. Shaw
Natural Resources Colorado Springs President
Local Government Boulder
Agriculture Ordway
Education Keystone
Citizen-at-large Denver
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Supporting Colorado School Children for Generations to Come The State Land Board generates revenue for Colorado schoolchildren by leasing state-owned trust lands and minerals. Ninety-five percent of lease payments support Colorado schools. We have provided in excess of $100 million annually to schools, and we are the primary funding source for the Department of Education’s Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) program. BEST offers competitive capital construction grants to school districts for the construction of a new school or the renovation of existing facilities.
95%
4
percent of lease payments supporting beneficiaries, primarily schoolchildren
The majority of
BEST grant recipients are located in rural communities
More than
225,000 Colorado children have attended BEST schools
Caption here
BEST has awarded
$2.5 Billion in grants (2008–2020)
Leases on Colorado Trust Lands The State Land Board generates revenue for schoolchildren and other beneficiaries by leasing state-owned trust lands and minerals. Ninety-five percent of lease payments pass to beneficiaries. We generate roughly $100 million annually. We are entrepreneurial in our pursuit of income. While our recent success remains largely due to extractive leases, such as oil and gas development, we are pushing ourselves to be innovative by increasing recurring revenues.
agriculture/grazing
The growth of recurring long-term revenue streams is critical to helping our agency fulfill our forward-looking, intergenerational mission. That is why we have expanded renewable energy, recreation, ecosystem services, commercial real estate, and agriculture leasing.
commercial real estate
ecosystem services
We also place multiple leases on the same property as a strategy to maximize revenue. For instance, one parcel of land might have an agricultural cattle grazing lease as well as a recreation lease for sportsmen. We ensure that layered leases have minimal impact on one another.
mining
oil and gas 5
agriculture/crop land
recreation
renewable energy
rights-of-way
tower sites
water resources
We define stewardship as “an ethic that embodies the responsible planning and management of resources.”
Setting—and Achieving—Long-Term Stewardship Goals Our Commissioners adopted a multi-year strategic plan that guides the agency’s operations via four strategic goals. One of those goals is devoted to stewardship. This report offers a look into the tools that we use to fulfill our stewardship goals. Emerald Mountain in Routt County.
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Strategic Plan Goal: Stewardship Amendment 16, Section 10 In 1996, the passage of Amendment 16 to the state Constitution by Colorado voters established a new emphasis in how our agency carries out our mission, particularly with regard to long-term productivity and sound stewardship of state trust lands. Amendment 16 specifically directed the Board to develop new tools that would promote sound stewardship and land management practices; longterm agricultural productivity; community stability; natural resource management practice; and conservation easements.
PROTECT AND ENHANCE THE LONG-TERM ECONOMIC VALUE OF THE TRUST’S PHYSICAL ASSETS: LAND, WATER, COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE, AND MINERAL ESTATE.
■ Apply high standards of care on all state trust land to ensure long-term health and productivity of natural values.
■ Protect and enhance the natural values of surface land designated into the Stewardship Trust.
■ Acquire new water assets to enhance the sustainability of other lines of business. ■ Increase resiliency of state trust land and other real property assets in the face of extreme weather events and climate change.
■ Partner with lessees on preferred land stewardship practices and ensure lessee compliance with stewardship lease stipulations.
■ Develop cooperative ventures with external parties to share information and resources to support and enhance land stewardship practices.
■ Support future generations of agriculture lessees. R ead the full strategic plan @ slb.colorado.gov/about
Our Stewardship Tools The State Land Board uses seven tools for the responsible management of important natural values on state trust lands: The Stewardship Trust, Colorado Designated Natural Areas Program, Asset Management Plans, Stewardship Action Plans, lease stipulations, grazing management best practices, and best management practices.
We use these tools individually or in tandem to protect important natural values and natural resources on state trust lands. None of the tools inhibits our agency’s ability to generate revenue for our beneficiaries. Our Commissioners strive to find a balance between stewarding the land for the benefit of future trust beneficiaries while also earning income today.
Multiple Tools to Enhance Stewardship ■ STEWARDSHIP TRUST A special management designation placed on 10 percent of state trust lands with the highest natural values to preserve the long-term benefits of, and returns from, those assets to the trusts. The Stewardship Trust was created by Amendment 16 to the State Constitution. Read more on page 8. ■ COLORADO DESIGNATED NATURAL AREAS A Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) program that recognizes and monitors the state’s finest examples of biodiversity, rarest plants, and geological or paleontological features. Read more on page 10.
■ ASSET MANAGEMENT PLANS A plan prepared by our agency for a specific state trust property (generally a large property asset of 25,000 acres or more). Read more on page 12.
■ STEWARDSHIP ACTION PLANS (SAPs) A management plan prepared by our agency for a specific species or resource of concern on a landscape scale (i.e. greater than 20,000 acres). Read more on page 13.
■ LEASE STIPULATIONS Timing and surface use restrictions applied to leases to protect wildlife and/or rare plants. If the stipulations aren’t followed, the lessee is in violation of the lease terms and the lease is subject to termination. Read more on page 16. ■ GRAZING STRATEGIES Grazing leases designed to reward lessees for utilizing certain stewardship practices, such as holistic grazing or flexible AUMs (animal unit months). Read more on page 14. ■ BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMPs) On-the-ground practices or procedures that lead to enhanced stewardship outcomes on state trust lands. Read more on page 8. Read about our stewardship tools online @ slb.colorado.gov/stewardship-overview
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The Stewardship Trust
109
The Stewardship Trust is a special management designation that the Board places on state trust lands with exceptionally high natural values.
# of properties in Stewardship Trust Horses graze on a fee land meadow in front of a hilly trust land property called Biedell Creek in Saguache County.
8 White pelicans over the South Platte River at Red Lion in Logan County
The Stewardship Trust was created by voter approval of Amendment 16 in 1996. In response, our agency established a long-term Stewardship Trust. Between 295,000 and 300,000 acres (10 percent of our total acreage) are designated into the trust to be managed to maximize options for continued stewardship, public use, or future disposition. We only allow leases on these properties that protect and enhance the beauty, natural values, open space, and wildlife habitat. The Stewardship Trust is comprised of 109 properties totaling about 296,425 acres. Our Commissioners review Stewardship Trust designations regularly and no less than every five years. We put in place management plans to ensure that Stewardship Trust properties are held to a higher standard of care. These best management practices are an effective and practical way of achieving desired stewardship or ecological outcomes.
Annual Questionnaire
Revenue Opportunities
We require all agriculture and recreation lessees who rent trust land designated into the Stewardship Trust to complete an annual stewardship questionnaire. The responses help us:
Stewardship Trust lands generate revenue from a wide variety of land uses, including grazing, recreation, and even oil and gas development as long as the identified natural values are protected.
■ i mprove stewardship outcomes, ■ understand current uses, ■ i dentify the causes of issues, and ■ d etermine if lessees are eligible for cost-sharing opportunities.
One example is the Lowry Ranch in Arapahoe County. Eighty percent of this 26,500-acre property has been designated into the Stewardship Trust. It also supports leases for grazing, recreation, solar, and mineral extraction. Since January 2013 it generated more than $155 million in oil and gas bonus payments and continues to generate oil and gas royalties. The lessees are required to comply with strict stewardship stipulations (see page 16) that protect open space and wildlife values.
OPEN SPACE
RARE PLANTS
Protected Natural Values: PRIMARY NATURAL VALUE OF STEWARDSHIP TRUST PROPERTIES 38% Wildlife
3% Geologic 4% Beauty 1% Archaeological and Paleological
38% 12%
38%
Heil Ranch in Boulder County
WILDLIFE HABITAT
BEAUTY
12% Open space
4% Riparian
Pronghorn at Crooked Creek in Park County
38% Rare Plants and Plant Communities
Stewardship Trust lands are managed to meet a higher standard of care: ■ S tewardship Trust properties are visited and monitored at least once every three years.
■ A stakeholder comment process is conducted for all proposed new uses.
■ M anagement plans are prepared to protect the identified natural values.
Saline Phlox (Phlox kelseyi) at Magic Forest Fen in Park County
GEOLOGIC FORMS
Mini-Wheeler in Fremont County
The primary attribute for each Stewardship Trust property is based on its most significant natural value. Of course, each property may have multiple natural values.
Magic Forest fen in Park County
ARCHAEOLOGICAL & PALEOLOGICAL
Cretaceous fossil in Kremmling, Grand County
HYDROLOGY
Crystal Lake in Chaffee County
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Colorado Natural Areas Program
CNAP is administered by Colorado Parks & Wildlife (CPW). CNAP areas feature diverse ecosystems, ecological communities, or other natural features or phenomena.
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CNAP staff and volunteer steward monitoring fens in Park County
The State Land Board has 24 properties totaling 32,345 acres designated by the Colorado Natural Areas Program (CNAP). These properties contain at least one unique or high-quality natural feature of statewide significance, typically the state’s rarest plants and geologic or paleontological features. CNAP was created by state legislation in 1976 and our first Colorado Natural Area was designated in 1978. CNAP is administered by Colorado Parks & Wildlife (CPW). By statute, a Commissioner from the State Land Board sits on the Colorado Natural Areas Council. Treasurevault Mountain is a State Land Board property designated into the Stewardship Trust and the Colorado Natural Areas Program (CNAP). CNAP properties contain a unique or high quality natural feature of statewide significance. Twenty-four State Land Board properties totaling more than 32,000 acres are designated within CNAP.
Photo courtesy of Raquel Wertsbaugh.
The State Land Board voluntarily agrees to protect these properties. We allow CNAP volunteers to access and monitor the sites annually. New uses may be allowed on these properties, but only after careful review. ď ľ Learn more @ slb.colorado.gov/stewardship/cnap
Trust Lands Designated as Colorado Natural Areas RESOURCES PROTECTED
CNAP PROPERTY NAME
COUNTY
Aiken Canyon
El Paso
Plant Communities, Geology
Antero/Salt Creek
Park/Chaffee
Wildlife, Plant Communities, Plants
Arikaree River
Yuma
Plant Communities, Wildlife, Plants
California Park
Routt
Wildlife, Plant Communities
Castlewood Canyon
Douglas
Plants, Plant Communities, Wildlife
Chalk Bluffs
Weld
Wildlife, Plants, Plant Communities, Geology
Droney Gulch
Chaffee
Plants
East Sand Dunes
Jackson
Geology, Plants
Four Mile Creek
Park
Plant Communities, Plants
High Creek Fen
Park
Plants, Plant Communities
Irish Canyon
Moffat
Geology, Plants, Plant Communities
Jimmy Creek
Larimer
Plants
Kremmling Cretaceous Ammonite
Grand
Fossils
Mini Wheeler
Fremont
Geology, Plant Communities, Plants
Owl Canyon Pinon Grove
Larimer
Plant Communities
Park Creek Hogback
Larimer
Plants
Rajadero Canyon
Conejos
Plants
Roxborough
Douglas
Geology, Plants,Wildlife, Plant Communities
Saddle Mountain
Park
Plant Communities
Sand Creek
Larimer
Plant Communities, Plants
Shell Rock Canyon
Baca
Plants
Staunton-Elk Falls
Park
Plants, Plant Communities, Wildlife
Treasure Vault Mountain
Park/Lake
Plants, Plant Communities, Wildlife
Zapata Falls
Alamosa
Geology, Wildlife, Plant Communities
Resources listed in order of significance
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Spring Creek fen in Park County
Asset Management Plans Asset Management Plans are property management plans prepared by the State Land Board for the agency’s largest, landscape-scale property assets. The State Land Board has prepared nine plans for properties that total nearly 500,000 acres.
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Very large properties are becoming increasingly rare in the American West. Unlike the majority of our surface ownership that consists of 640-acre sections, our agency also owns numerous 25,000+ acre properties. These properties are important because they enable our lessees to manage grazing on a landscape
scale. They also generate enhanced revenue through a higher level of recreational uses or comprehensive, well-planned oil and gas development that can protect identified natural values across a broad area. Each plan describes a unique vision for its subject property based on its location, natural resources, surface and mineral assets, and revenue potential. The plans enable the Board to maximize each property’s short- and long-term value in response to changing financial, environmental, and social conditions.
Learn more @ slb.colorado.gov/stewardship/asset-management-plans
Long-leaved phlox on central shortgrass prairie at Bohart Ranch in El Paso County
COMPLETED AMPs
COUNTY
ACRES
Lowry Ranch
Arapahoe
25,590
Chancellor Ranch
Las Animas
53,006
Bohart Ranch
El Paso
47,859
Chico Basin Ranch
Pueblo, El Paso
86,211
Brett Grey Ranch
Lincoln
49,133
Hesperus
La Plata
6,278
Timberlake
Crowley, Otero, & Bent
160,000
North Mtn Ranches
San Miguel & Dolores
10,967
La Jara
Conejos
45,650
TOTAL
Jim Creek at the La Jara property in Conejos County
484,694
Stewardship Action Plans (SAPs) SAPs are adaptive management plans for a specific species or a resource of concern that are on found on multiple state trust land properties across a broad landscape. Examples include wetlands or habitat for a particular wildlife species, such as the greater sage grouse. Each SAP identifies best management practices for protecting and managing the lands while generating revenue through existing and new leases. In some cases, we perform rapid field assessments of the existing condition of state trust lands for the specific natural resource or species. The Board approved its first SAP for greater sage grouse in September 2016. In June 2020 the Board also approved a SAP for the lesser prairie chicken. Additional SAPs will be written for trust lands with fens, wetlands, and streams. Learn more @ slb.colorado.gov/stewardship-action-plans
PEART FEN IN PARK COUNTY
GREATER SAGE GROUSE
The greater sage grouse SAP ....................................................... This SAP complied with former Governor John Hickenlooper’s 2015 executive order that directed all state agencies whose operations affect the greater sage grouse habitat to avoid, minimize, and mitigate adverse impacts to the bird and coordinate their activities with CPW’s greater sage grouse conservation plan.
LESSER PRAIRIE CHICKEN
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Grazing Strategies Colorado’s prairie grasslands, sagebrush steppes, and mountain meadows all evolved under the influence of native grazers. Responsible grazing is essential to the sound, long-term management of these lands. The State Land Board encourages grazing strategies that vary the seasonal timing, intensity, and duration of grazing and provide sufficient recovery growth periods for grass and other forage resources. These practices foster native plant diversity and optimal plant growth that lead to long-term resiliency of the land. ROTATIONAL GRAZING AT LOWRY RANCH
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The Lowry Ranch holistic management plan is an example of a grazing lease that incorporates these principles as well as several additional provisions being tested for use on other state trust lands.
SEVERAL KEY PRACTICES THAT TAKE PLACE AT LOWRY THAT DIFFER FROM STANDARD GRAZING INCLUDE:
■ Ongoing range monitoring to determine the property’s
carrying capacity for each growing and dormant season.
■ B i-annual (growing and dormant season) lease payments based on actual grazing.
■ Collaborative decision-making between staff and the lessee. ■ Long-term infrastructure investment planning. ■ Comprehensive range and biological monitoring protocols. SEVERAL OTHER LEASES THAT INCORPORATE SOME OF THESE PRINCIPLES INCLUDE: • Bohart Ranch in El Paso County • Chico Basin Ranch in El Paso and Pueblo Counties • Brett Gray Ranch in Lincoln County • Chancellor Ranch in Las Animas County • Sherman Creek Ranch in Jackson County
Photographs courtesy of Rachel Wertsbaugh
“Grazing leases are a huge part of land stewardship for us. Grazing improves the land over time if you do it right. We expect lessees to maintain the long-term quality of trust lands because our agency needs to earn money not only for today’s students, but also for future generations of children.” — William Woolston, Field Operations Team Leader
581,783 Animal Unit Months (AUMs) on active leases (FY19) Cattle grazing at La Jara in Conejos County
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Cattle grazing at La Jara in Conejos County
Annual Agriculture Forums The State Land Board hosts complimentary agriculture forums for its lessees to foster improved land management practices and increase profit. To date, more than 270 people have attended the programs. Forums presented by Dr. Tim Steffens, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and Dallas Mount, owner of Ranching for Profit.
The Colorado State Land Board encourages agriculture lessees to use rotational or holistic grazing.
All Lessees Expected to Be Good Stewards of Trust Land The State Land Board uses lease stipulations to control impacts from leasing and to ensure higher stewardship outcomes. Stipulations for Mineral Leases
..................................................... Stipulations are an important part of the agency’s oil, gas, and solid minerals leasing process.
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Tracts nominated for mineral development are reviewed by staff and then distributed for comment to local and state government experts, such as local government designees and CPW energy liaisons. CPW energy liaisons provide input regarding wildlife, threatened and endangered species, species of special concern, and critical wildlife habitat. Our agency reviews CPW’s recommendations, along with information from the Colorado Natural Heritage Program BIOTICS database, to identify whether any rare plants or other species could be impacted by the proposed use. Based on the input collected, the nominated tracts are either not leased or the lease contract is written to include stipulations that accommodate the experts’ concerns. A lease can be terminated if the lessee doesn’t comply with the stipulations.
Since 2008
100%
of all tracts nominated for mineral extraction leasing are reviewed by experts to identify and mitigate potential impacts. Oil and gas pumpjack
Pete Lein Mine at Owl Canyon in Larimer County
There are roughly 7,000 leases on trust land in Colorado. Lease types range from rights-of-ways to recreation to mineral extraction to agriculture. Read more about leasing on page 5. Each contract includes stewardship requirements, and lessees may be subject to lease termination if the terms aren’t met satisfactorily. Our field staff inspects each leased property to ensure the land is being well stewarded. Lease renewals are dependent, in part, on good stewardship. We partner with lessees to help ensure the land is stewarded well, particularly regarding noxious weed mitigation. Agriculture operators can:
■ ask for free weed management consultation, ■ a pply for noxious weed mitigation cost-sharing funds,
■ and receive a free weed management guidebook.
Bloom Stewardship Award
...................................................................... In 2017 the State Land Board began an annual tradition of recognizing a lessee who has demonstrated exceptional stewardship practices. Award winners are selected due to their commitment to protecting the environment while maintaining profitable operations. The Bloom Stewardship Award winners are notable for their desire to leave the land in better shape for future generations. This award is named in recognition of former State Land Board Commissioner Mike Bloom for her tireless dedication to sound stewardship practices in support of the agency’s beneficiaries. AWARD WINNERS
Trainor Cattle Company LLC holds a grazing lease on Lowry Ranch in Arapahoe County. Three pictures courtesy of Raquel Wertsbaugh.
2017 = Trainor Cattle Company, LLC, in North Central Colorado 2018 = Temple family in Southwest Colorado 2019 = Badger Creek Ranch, LLC, in South Central Colorado
Nick Trainor (third from left) and Raquel Wertsbaugh (second from left) and baby daughter Grace receive their award from Director Bill Ryan (right), agency former Commissioner Mike Bloom (second from right), North Central Resource Specialist William Woolston, and Conservation Services Manager Mindy Gottsegen at an awards ceremony in Denver in December 2017.
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Research/Partnerships The State Land Board occasionally approves the use of state trust land properties for special studies related to conservation or stewardship of natural resources. Examples include academic research conducted by students and faculty at universities, wildlife studies by CPW, and the continued documentation of Colorado’s flora and fauna. Several large ranches have supported wildlife research projects on box turtles, reptiles, and bird banding. We are grateful to community partners who pursue these research studies. Past partners have included Colorado State University (CSU), The Nature Conservancy, Colorado Herbarium, Denver Botanic Gardens, Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, the University of Colorado at Boulder, and more. 18
Learn more @ slb.colorado.gov/education-resources/ research-access — Erin Tripp, Assistant Professor, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Curator of Botany, COLO Herbarium, CU-Boulder, performed lichen field work on trust land property at Chancellor Ranch. In spring 2020, she shared her work virtually with her students to keep their curriculum going despite quarantine guidelines.
Pinyon and Juniper Woodland Removal THREE-WAY PRIVATE/PUBLIC PARTNERSHIP
............................................................................................. Expansion of pinyon and juniper (PJ) trees onto grasslands and shrub lands is a pervasive problem in parts of Colorado and the arid west. Once controlled by natural cycles of wildfire, PJ woodland encroachment diminishes forage and habitat for a variety of wildlife species. It’s a problem for ranchers who rely on native rangeland grasses for livestock. And it’s a problem at state wildlife areas because it overruns grass and shrub lands that provide habitat for quail, songbirds, greater sage grouse, and lesser prairie chickens. Habitat is also lost for wild turkey, deer, and elk that are popular with sportsmen.
Example of PJ encroachment onto sage brush grassland.
Multi-person crews with chainsaws and mulching machines can spend hours removing pinon and juniper. Removal of encroaching these trees on trust land was cost prohibitive and only 100 acres of overrun trust land could be treated annually. So the Land Board, CPW, and the Wild Turkey Federation formed a threeway partnership in 2017 to purchase, maintain, and operate a hydro ax. It was the first interagency contract of its kind in Colorado. A hydro ax, which resembles a farm threshing machine, can demolish a pinyon or juniper tree in 2.5 minutes. Chancellor Ranch, a landscape-scale trust land property in southern Colorado, responded well to two years of PJ removal. Grasslands favored by wild turkey have regrown. The property now has improved habitat for bighorn sheep because the animals prefer open sight lines across canyons. Plus the risk of wildfire has been reduced.
SINCE 2017:
“Being able to include rare lichen biota on state trust lands in a short series of educational films gave my students an especially meaningful, on-line quasi-field experience when COVID-19 stay-in-place restrictions prevented them from going into the field”.
●
800 acres of trust land treated, nearly triple the total acreage previously treated.
●
Roughly 24,000 pinyon and juniper trees removed from trust land.
●
400 acres of CPW state wildlife area treated.
●
Mitigation costs decreased by more than 60 percent.
Protection of Rare Plants The Colorado Natural Heritage Program ranks the rareness of plants. Our agency takes into consideration the impact of a lease on plants ranked S1-S3. Where appropriate, we include spatial stipulations or apply best management practices (BMPs) to avoid or minimize impacts to these rare plants.
STATE IMPERILMENT RANK: Bitter root (S2) Lewisia rediviva
Few-flowered ragwort (S1) Packera pauciflora
The state rank that characterizes the relative rarity or endangerment of the plant statewide.
S1 = s tate critically imperiled with five or fewer known occurrences
S2 = s tate imperiled, with 6-20 known occurrences
S3 = s tate vulnerable, with fewer than 100 known occurrences Colorado tansy-aster (S3) Machaeranthera coloradoensis
Colorado green gentian (S2S3) Frasera coloradoensis
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Ecosystem Services The State Land Board’s ecosystem services program generates revenue from the function of healthy ecosystems, such as wetlands, streams, and the enhancement of wildlife habitat.
A clouded sulpher butterfly at the 160,000-acre Timberlake property, which spans Bent, Crowley, and Otero Counties.
REGULATORY MITIGATION BANKING The ecosystem services program is comprised largely of regulatory mitigation banks involving wetlands, streams, and endangered species. Mitigation banks generate credits from restored wetland, streams, and wildlife habitat to offset negative impacts to similar properties elsewhere in the region. Developers buy credits from mitigation banks constructed on state trust land. We have a unique opportunity to lease properties for mitigation banks due to the size and distribution of state trust lands in our portfolio. With 2.8 million surface acres located across much of the state, our resources are both extensive and diverse. Developing this line of business on state trust lands helps us fulfill our mission of generating revenue for trust beneficiaries while stewarding the natural resources for future generations.
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Common blue butterfly at Sherman Creek Ranch in Jackson County
VOLUNTARY MITIGATION BANKING The State Land Board is also developing a program to receive voluntary payments
for the improvement of certain ecosystem services, such as pollinator habitat or habitat projects for non-endangered species. Anyone from the public may fund these services: a class of third graders, a group of colleagues, or a spouse in search of a unique birthday gift can make a gift to protect acreage that falls within a butterfly pollinator path. This type of program is becoming more prevalent as corporations, municipalities, and citizens-at-large recognize the value of healthy ecosystems in their communities. POLLINATOR PATH PROGRAM Pollinators play a key, life-supporting role in agriculture, biodiversity, and land resiliency. The State Land Board is creating new pollinator habitat on state trust lands that have been disturbed from oil and gas development, abandoned cropland, and rights-of-way. Biodiversity for Education is a three-year pilot project to test management practices for creating new pollinator habitat and to measure the changes over time.
“Ecosystem services are all of the ways in which ecosystems — and the species that make them up
— sustain and fulfill human life. They include the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food that nourishes us, and the aesthetic experiences that inspire our cultures and fulfill our lives.” (Millenium Assessment, 2005)
A conservation bank for the preble’s meadow jumping mouse is being considered at this property, called Table Top, in Larimer County.
2,780,420 # of trust acres in Colorado
“In the management of all state trust lands — and the Stewardship Trust in particular — the Board has a unique responsibility to assure intergenerational equity. Amendment 16 put particular emphasis on intergenerational equity. As trustees of a perpetual trust, we should recognize and seek balance between the needs of today’s schoolchildren and 21 the needs of the generations of children to come. Responsible stewardship of the land assets protects those assets and their value for both current and future generations of beneficiaries.” — Mike Bloom, Former Commissioner (2007-2015), State Land Board
slb.colorado.gov 303.866.3454 1127 Sherman Street Suite 300 Denver, CO 80203
Johnny Moore Mountain property in Jackson County.
The Colorado State Land Board staff and Commissioners appreciate your partnership and welcome your feedback. Visit us at one of our seven offices throughout the state. Or join us in person or virtually at one of our monthly board meetings. The meetings are live-streamed, and we hold our meetings in alternating locations throughout the state to make it easier for citizens from all areas of Colorado to attend. Learn more @ slb.colorado.gov/public-meetings.
