High Country Advocate Staff Report
The Colorado State Land Board meets December 11 to consider land acquisitions, mining leases, and routine lease approvals. The board will also receive an information briefing on agriculture leasing operations covering 2.74 million acres of trust lands.
Bergen Peak Acquisition
The board will vote on acquiring 183 acres adjacent to Bergen Peak State Wildlife Area in Clear Creek County. Trust for Public Land contracted to purchase the property from a private seller. The board would acquire it from TPL using Non-simultaneous Exchange funds—proceeds from previous trust land sales that must be reinvested within two years.
The property would be incorporated into the existing 1,120-acre Bergen Peak State Wildlife Area, which sits on School Trust lands leased to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Staff recommend board authorization to spend up to the appraised value, subject to satisfactory due diligence. The purchase price will be discussed in executive session.
The board currently holds approximately $7.1 million in Non-simultaneous Exchange funds available for reinvestment.
Mining Lease
The board will vote on Sand and Gravel Mining Production Lease SM-117895 covering 25 acres within a larger 160-acre grazing lease in Otero County. If approved, the 25 acres would be removed from the grazing lease with one-year notice to the current lessee. Staff report the mining operation will not prevent grazing on the remaining 135 acres.
Routine Leases
Nine leases require board approval: three competitive bids (two agriculture, one recreation), four new leases (one recreation, three right-of-way), and two extensions.
Agriculture Leasing Operations
The board will receive an 88-page information briefing on agriculture leasing program operations. The briefing requires no board action.
The State Land Board manages approximately 1,586 grazing leases, 112 dry cropland leases, and 16 irrigated crop leases serving roughly 1,700 lessees. Agriculture leasing generated $16.21 million in revenue for fiscal year 2024-25.
The briefing reports the agency hired its first Regenerative Agriculture Program Manager. The name is not provided in the board packet.
Staff conducted 548 agriculture lease inspections during the past year, representing 25% of all agricultural leases. Approximately 10% of inspected leases required corrective action for compliance issues.
The briefing describes the competitive bid process used when multiple applicants seek the same lease. Existing lessees in good standing receive preferential right to match the highest competitive bid. If the existing lessee declines to match or is not in good standing, district staff convene evaluation teams to score applications using 50 points: 20 for revenue, 20 for stewardship, 10 for community stability.
The briefing reports continued development of a grassland carbon sequestration program in coordination with the Ecosystem Services division. The State Land Board approved its first biological carbon lease in October 2025.
Executive Session
The board will enter executive session to discuss litigation and the Bergen Peak property acquisition under Colorado statute 24-6-402(3)(a). Executive session discussions are not open to the public. Any board action will occur in regular session.
Public Participation
The board accepts public comments through online submission (deadline: noon, December 9), written comments mailed to the Denver office, or real-time comments during the meeting via Zoom or in-person attendance. The meeting begins at 8:00 AM and can be attended in person or via web conferencing.
The full board packet is available at slb.colorado.gov.
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