(1) (a) The public
lands of the state may be leased by the state board of land commissioners in such
manner and to such persons as will be consistent with article IX of the constitution
of the state of Colorado. A lease of lands for grazing or agricultural purposes shall
be for a period of ten years unless an alternate term is agreed to by the board and
the lessee.
(b) (I) Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (II) of this paragraph (b),
in determining the renewal of any expiring lease, the board shall consider, among
other things, the care and use given the land and the development work done by the
lessee in conserving and promoting the productivity thereof and in promoting
benefit for the trusts.
(II) In determining the renewal or termination of an expiring agricultural or
grazing lease, or the sale or exchange of land for agricultural or grazing purposes,
the board shall consider the benefit that continued agricultural and grazing use of
the land contributes to the purposes of the respective trusts by the preservation of
the stability of the local community, the revenue provided for trust purposes, and
the lessee's stewardship of the land.
(c) Before land is leased to anyone other than the present lessee for
agricultural or grazing uses, the present lessee shall be given ten days' notice to
begin negotiations and ninety days to complete negotiations with the state board of
land commissioners concerning a new lease. The board shall not lease land that is
being leased for agricultural or grazing uses to anyone other than the present
lessee for agricultural or grazing uses unless the board and lessee fail to agree on
lease terms, the present lessee does not wish to renew his or her lease, or the
present lessee has failed to comply with any provision of the lease. If the land will
not continue to be leased for agricultural or grazing purposes, the board shall find
that the benefit of continued agricultural and grazing use of the land is outweighed
by the benefit that will be provided by the new use and that continued agricultural
or grazing use is incompatible with other purposes for which the land is to be
leased.
(d) For agricultural or grazing leases expiring on or after July 1, 1998, the
board shall provide the lessee with written notice, one year prior to the expiration of
such lease, of its intent not to renew the lease for agricultural or grazing uses.
(1.5) In entering into lease agreements for agricultural use of any land of the
state, the state board of land commissioners shall include in such leases terms,
incentives, and lease rates that will promote sound stewardship and land
management practices, long-term agricultural productivity, and community
stability.
(2) Prior to the quarter period beginning April 1, 1955, and prior to each
quarter period thereafter, the board shall make a listing of all grazing and other
agricultural leases which expire within the second succeeding quarter period
thereafter, giving a description of the land leased, the name of the lessee, and the
expiration date of the lease. At least five days prior to the beginning of each such
quarter period, a copy of such listing shall be certified to and transmitted by the
board to the county clerk and recorder of each county in which any such land to be
leased is situate and shall, by said county clerk and recorder, immediately upon
receipt thereof, be posted in the courthouse in a conspicuous place to which the
public has access and kept so posted until all leases listed thereon have expired. A
copy of such quarterly listing shall also be posted at the times above provided in
the main office of the state board of land commissioners, available for public
inspection.
(3) (a) All applications to lease or to renew a lease shall be made in writing to
the board, stipulating the rental the applicant is willing to pay, and under such other
regulations, not in conflict with the law, as the board may prescribe.
(b) The board shall require from any applicant for a lease that he give
evidence of his responsibility to carry out the terms of the lease. Any applicant,
except the present lessee, shall deposit with his application a sum of money equal
to the first annual rental offered in his application.
(c) The board shall also require that an applicant state under oath the total
acreage of agricultural or grazing land, if any, owned and to be operated by him in
connection with the land to be leased, and the intended use, during the term of the
lease, of both such private land, if any, and public land, either as to agricultural
products to be produced thereon or as to the carrying capacity of such lands in
terms of the number of livestock such tracts are expected to reasonably support;
and, if a renewal, a history, for such period of time as prescribed by the board, of the
past use of both such private land, if any, and public land, as to agricultural
products produced and the number of livestock grazed thereon.
(4) (a) The board may, in its discretion, offer for sale any land leased at any
time during the term of the lease as though said lease had not been executed, or it
may withdraw such land from sale during the full term of the lease; except that the
board may not sell or exchange land subject to a lease for agricultural or grazing
purposes during the term of the lease unless the board complies with the
requirements of paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of this section and paragraph (b) of
this subsection (4). The board shall subject the sale or exchange of land currently
leased for agricultural or grazing purposes to the continuation of the terms of the
current lease unless the lessee agrees otherwise, the board or third party buys out
the lease at a price equal to the current year's lease rate for each year, or fraction
thereof, remaining in the lease, or unless subjecting the sale or exchange of such
land to the current lease terms would violate article IX of the constitution of the
state of Colorado. In any event, the board may cancel or terminate the lease on land
subject to the lease up to a total of eighty acres during the term of the lease
without payment as long as such cancellation or termination is done in compliance
with paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of this section.
(b) If the board determines that all or a portion of land being leased for
agricultural or grazing purposes may be offered for sale or nonsimultaneous
exchange, and if the agricultural or grazing lessee is in compliance with the
provisions of the lease, and if the lessee is in attendance or represented on the day
of sale or at the bid opening for nonsimultaneous exchange of the land, the lessee
may exercise his or her rights pursuant to this paragraph (b) to match the highest
bid received. The lessee shall have the right to offer matching bids until such time
as the high bidder refuses to raise the bid or until the lessee decides not to match
the bid, whichever first occurs. If the successful bidder fails to comply with the
terms of the sale or nonsimultaneous exchange, the next-highest bidder shall be
offered the land without further auction process.
(5) The board may cancel and terminate any lease at any time if it finds that
a lessee has violated any of the provisions of the lease or made any false statement
in the application therefor.
(6) The board shall as soon as practicable, and not more than thirty days
after the close of every quarter period, post, in the main office of the board, a
complete listing of leases executed during that quarter period, together with rental
figures for the same.
(7) The board may cancel and terminate any lease or other use of state lands
procured through fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation.