Colorado’s Land Board swaps agriculture for a revenue experiment

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project

Acquiring the Lake Fork Ranch to expand “conservation opportunities”.

I saw an interesting press release from our Governor recently. It’s linked first below.

Quoting:

“The Colorado State Board of Land Commissioners (State Land Board) has approved the acquisition of the approximately 800-acre Lake Fork Ranch, located just west of Leadville in Lake County.”

Governor Polis, DNR Director Dan Gibbs, and State Land Board Director Nicole Rosmarino all gushed about the new acquisition. To save space, I attached their quotes from the press release as screenshot 1.

The quotes here, touting success for rural communities (Polis) and preserving agricultural use (Gibbs), put me in mind of an earlier rundown of the Nature Conservancy’s focus on the High Plains of Southeast Colorado. That newsletter is linked second below if you want or need the context, but the connection sparked in my mind here is how much benefit for rural Colorado and agriculture is a part of the hype for these kinds of deals.

That hype merits a skeptical look for this land acquisition, just as it did for The Nature Conservancy, and with just as much reason to think there’s more to the story.

Continuing past the initial quotes by Polis et. al., you get to the potential uses for the property. Again, for space reasons, I attach this one as screenshot 2.

This list is notable as much for what’s in it as what’s not.

Three items right off the bat about carbon and biodiversity. Recreation figures largely (with some mention of fishing). Perhaps straining the words of Mr. Gibbs, about all I see regarding agriculture here is agritourism and use of the property’s water rights for irrigation, not grazing. Not running cattle. A dude ranch where you could come play cowboy?

There are some likely unavoidable economic drivers here. I am not a rancher, but my guess is that ranching in the mountains is a losing proposition; if it were otherwise, there’d be cattle up there now. As such I doubt it’s worth it to either party for the State Land Board to try and lease this land for cattle or hay production. Recreation is probably the best use of this land.

For a second, put aside the obvious happy-talking and falsehoods about agriculture and supporting rural Colorado about this land. That’s not nothing, but it sticking there misses the obvious point.

The point is illustrated by another quote from Polis’ press release:

“The acquisition [of the Lake Fork Ranch] aligns with the agency’s [State Land Board’s] current strategic plan—to grow recurring, diversified revenue through entrepreneurial, non-extractive ventures”

The point is the shift in how the State Land Board will be meeting their legal obligations. This won’t be your father’s Land Board, in other words.

As I read that quote, I can’t help but wonder (and did consider an email to the Land Board and Polis both) just exactly what they considered entrepreneurial and/or non-extractive. Probably safe to say that mining and oil/gas are out, but is ranching or grazing extractive?

I doubt I would’ve gotten a reply from Polis or the Land Board, so I didn’t bother asking.

To help further drive home my point, I want to remind you of something I’ve written about before but which takes on new meaning in light of this and the hire of Rosmarino as the Land Board director.

I want to point you to one of Dylan Roberts’ 2025 bills. It’s linked third below. The summary of what this bill does is attached as screenshot 3. Read that list then go back and revisit the quotes above.

I think what we’re witnessing here is not so much an addition to existing policy as the thin end of the wedge for a complete change in how the State Land Board operates. From Roberts’ law to the new director to the hints we’re already seeing, I would not at all be surprised to see that, after fast forwarding 5 maybe 10 years, conservation easements and carbon credits are the norm with Ag (actual production Ag, not “agritourism”) a rarity.

This is something that I think we all need to be watching and speaking up on. I have reminders out to get info on the working group from Roberts’ bill. I will update as I hear more with chances for you to weigh in. I hope you join me in doing so.

READ THE FULL COMMENTARY AT THE COLORADO ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT

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