The Colorado State Land Board voted unanimously January 22 to award a 9,634-acre Moffat County grazing lease to a competitor who bid 203 percent more than the current lessee—despite staff scoring the current lessee higher on land stewardship.
C&C Cattle LLC lost lease AG-117794 to Ely Ranch after 10-plus years managing the Pole Gulch parcel. Staff scoring sheets show C&C achieved 18 points on stewardship versus Ely Ranch’s 15 points. But Ely Ranch’s $57-per-AUM bid—triple C&C’s $18.83 rate—drove their total score to 36 points against C&C’s 33.7.
The 5-0 vote reveals how Director Nicole Rosmarino’s State Land Board prioritizes revenue over stewardship when the dollar gap justifies it. Last November, the same board emphasized “ecological continuity” over agricultural economics when approving the La Jara grazing lease renewal. That lease saw a minor revenue increase. Moffat County’s 203-percent differential changed the calculation.
Cindy McKee, representing C&C Cattle with her husband Cody, told commissioners the scoring process forces ranchers to choose between top-tier land management and competitive bids. “We can either do top-tier stewardship on our state lands, or we can offer a high lease payment,” McKee said. “We can’t do both.”
C&C invested heavily in regenerative agriculture education through Ranching for Profit, Soil Health Academy, and Understanding Ag consulting. They developed a long-term grazing plan covering their entire operation, including the Colorado state lease. Their renewal application cast what McKee called “a really strong regenerative vision” over the property’s future.
The board’s education initiatives encouraged that vision. McKee noted C&C followed State Land Board classes, welcomed the agency’s first regenerative agriculture manager, and planned to attend training by Alejandro Carrillo—a case study at Understanding Ag who transformed his Chihuahua ranch through soil health practices.
Then the competitive bid arrived. Staff notified C&C in May 2025 that Ely Ranch had applied for the same parcel. C&C exercised their statutory 90-day negotiation period but received no invitation for further talks. “Negotiation is not actually part of this process,” McKee told the board.
Staff sent C&C a letter asking for their “highest and best offer”—language McKee found contradictory. The letter’s first line said C&C was “beginning negotiations.” The second line demanded a final bid. “To the lessee checking this box, those two sentences mean two different things,” McKee explained. C&C treated it as the start of negotiations and made what they considered an appropriate opening offer.
No negotiation followed. Staff conducted ranch visits, scored both applicants, and recommended Ely Ranch. C&C filed a CORA request seeking their stewardship scores. They received fully redacted documents. Staff withheld the scores as “pre-decisional and deliberative,” arguing that disclosure “might cause substantial injury to the public interest because it might stifle frank and honest conversation.”
McKee questioned how the state can promote stewardship while hiding its value from lessees. “If ranchers are not permitted to know the value of their stewardship efforts to the state of Colorado during the competitive bid process, is the state really promoting good stewardship?” she asked.
The stewardship McKee described comes at real cost. After three years implementing regenerative practices on their own ranch, C&C understands the commitment required. “We could spend 10 or 20 years investing cash and massive expenditure of our own time restoring Colorado’s lands this way,” McKee said, “and right about the time that others notice how great it’s looking, we could lose the long-term return on our investment to an astronomical bid.”
Ely Ranch attorney addressed the board after C&C’s presentation. The fifth-generation operation emphasized their use of virtual fencing technology and partnership with NRCS to guide management. They submitted a bank-issued check for the first full year’s lease payment with their application, demonstrating financial capacity. Staff praised their “intentional investments in regenerative agriculture.”
Chair Liane Froeb acknowledged communication problems after the vote. “I think that we need to do better and raising some of the issues,” Froeb said. She thanked C&C for their tenure as lessees while praising Ely Ranch’s regenerative approach.
Commissioner Mark Harvey asked how Ely Ranch could sustain the $57-per-AUM rate given the 203-percent premium over C&C’s bid. Ely Ranch explained they already pay comparable rates on private leases in the area. The bid was competitive but financially sustainable for their operation.
The McKees leave with questions about the board’s stated priorities. Staff trains lessees in regenerative agriculture, promotes soil health workshops, and employs specialists to advance stewardship. But when a 10-year lessee scores higher on stewardship than a competitor, the revenue differential decides the outcome.
The lease transfers March 1, 2026. C&C Cattle returns to their private lands in Saratoga, Wyoming, where they own the rewards from their regenerative investments. Ely Ranch gains access to 9,634 acres they’ll manage under State Land Board oversight.
Alejandro Carrillo’s grazing forum in Craig proceeds as scheduled for January 27. Whether Moffat County lessees attend depends on whether they believe stewardship matters when leases renew.
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