The Colorado State Land Board approved a five-year plan January 22 to manage 20 fens across approximately 1,500 acres in Park, Jackson, Lake, and Saguache counties—expanding livestock restrictions on wetlands the agency says have been degraded by “long-standing practice of using fens as sole source of water for livestock.”
The Fen Stewardship Action Plan 2026-2030 continues grazing management changes started under the 2020-2025 plan, including livestock exclusion fencing, alternative water source development, and mandatory grazing management plans negotiated with lessees. Almost all targeted fen properties currently lease for grazing and recreation.
Board packet materials attribute fen degradation to three causes: historic peat mining, loss of water from ditching, and livestock use. Only the third remains active. Staff presented the plan as protecting unique ecosystems while maintaining revenue from compatible uses. The plan states actions “are unlikely to have a negative impact on agency revenues.”
That claim requires accepting speculative biodiversity market income to replace documented grazing revenue. The plan explicitly positions improved fen condition to capitalize on “voluntary biodiversity markets” as they develop—the same unproven revenue source cited in the $183,000 Fen & Wetland Protection I&D Fund request approved the same day.
Accomplishments from the 2020-2025 period demonstrate how fen protection restricts agricultural uses. Staff built livestock exclusion fence around Railroad Fen, removing direct grazing access. They developed a grazing management plan with the Railroad Fen lessee requiring modified practices. They hired a fen expert to evaluate three sites and draft enhancement plans.
The 2026-2030 plan accelerates that work. Seven new fen sites identified since 2020 join the management framework. Goals include “protect, enhance, and manage” fens through infrastructure improvements, vegetation monitoring, grazing management coordination, and partnership with external conservation organizations.
Field operations staff will coordinate with lessees on “seasonal timing and spatial restrictions for surface-disturbing activities.” Translation: grazing schedules and locations face new limitations based on fen protection priorities rather than ranching operations.
The plan divides objectives across three categories. “Resource Conservation” focuses on restoring and protecting fen ecosystems. “Resource Development” manages uses providing return to beneficiaries. “Outreach and Lessee Engagement” builds support for fen protection among those whose operations face new restrictions.
That third category matters. Lessees who’ve grazed these properties for decades under existing terms now negotiate management plans limiting when and where livestock access fens. The alternative water sources and exclusion fencing come from State Land Board I&D funds. But operational changes—moving livestock off fens during sensitive periods, accepting spatial restrictions, modifying traditional grazing patterns—come from lessee compliance.
Biodiversity Program Manager Lindsey Brandt leads fen management alongside her work integrating Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s State Wildlife Action Plan into State Land Board operations. The dual role signals how wildlife and wetland priorities increasingly drive land use decisions.
The Wildlife Action Plan identifies 612 Species of Greatest Conservation Need, including 152 Tier 1 species requiring urgent intervention. Staff will “incorporate the SWAP’s recommendations to protect wildlife and rare plant habitat into the upcoming Biodiversity Stewardship Action Plan.” Timing and spatial restrictions for surface-disturbing leases will follow SWAP guidance.
Fen protection fits this biodiversity framework. The ecosystems support unique plant communities and provide critical wildlife habitat. Staff presentations emphasize ecological values—carbon sequestration, flood attenuation, water quality, biodiversity—over agricultural productivity.
The language reveals priorities. Fens degraded by “long-standing practice” of livestock watering need protection and restoration. The practices that built Colorado’s agricultural economy become problems requiring management intervention. The ranching families who’ve grazed these lands for generations become stakeholders requiring engagement and education.
Director Nicole Rosmarino’s State Land Board promotes regenerative agriculture through workshops and consulting. Alejandro Carrillo’s upcoming Craig forum teaches soil health and holistic grazing management. Staff hired a regenerative agriculture manager. The board approves training resources and technical assistance.
But when regenerative ranchers like C&C Cattle invest in soil health education and develop long-term grazing plans, superior stewardship scores don’t protect their leases from higher bids. When existing lessees graze fens that supported livestock for decades, staff builds exclusion fences and imposes spatial restrictions.
The disconnect matters. The board can’t simultaneously promote rancher-led regenerative agriculture and impose top-down management restrictions driven by biodiversity priorities. Either lessees have authority to manage land based on their ecological knowledge, or staff controls land use through regulatory frameworks.
The fen plan chooses staff control. Lessees face mandatory management plans, seasonal restrictions, spatial limitations, and alternative water requirements—all justified by ecosystem protection goals defined by agency biodiversity managers rather than ranching practitioners.
Staff assured commissioners that fen protection won’t harm revenues. The January 22 meeting approved $183,000 to implement seven fen protection projects alongside the five-year management plan. That’s $683,000 total conservation spending when combined with Michigan River Camp’s $500,000 appropriation—all authorized while denying High Plains Stone’s request to continue a family mining operation generating $2,860 annually.
The math doesn’t support revenue protection claims. Grazing restrictions reduce AUM capacity. Exclusion fencing removes acreage from productive use. Alternative water infrastructure costs money without increasing stocking rates. Biodiversity market revenue remains speculative.
What the plan does accomplish is expanding state control over how lessees use trust lands. Each fence, each management plan, each seasonal restriction removes lessee autonomy and increases regulatory oversight. The ecological justifications may be sound. The economic justifications are not.
Agricultural lessees understand the trajectory. State Land Board workshops teach regenerative practices while staff imposes management restrictions. The agency promotes soil health while excluding livestock from wetlands. Officials praise stewardship while awarding leases to highest bidders.
Rosmarino’s tenure shows consistent patterns. The Fen Stewardship Action Plan 2026-2030 continues them. Agricultural uses face increasing regulation justified by conservation goals funded through speculative market assumptions while documented revenue sources get systematically eliminated.
The board renewed the plan with little discussion. Commissioners heard no opposition. Lessees affected by fen restrictions weren’t identified in meeting materials. The vote appeared routine.
For Colorado ranchers watching State Land Board decisions, routine matters. Each plan renewal, each I&D appropriation, each management restriction builds the regulatory framework limiting how they use trust lands. The board claims partnership with lessees. The fen plan documents something closer to regulation.
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