(1) (a) As part of the study
conducted pursuant to section 36-1-152.3 (1), the state trust lands conservation and
recreation work group shall provide recommendations to the parties identified in
section 36-1-152.3 (2)(a)(II) regarding how to implement the mandate of section 10
of article IX of the state constitution, including recommendations on how to:
(I) Further the long-term productivity and sound stewardship of all state
trust lands, not only those in the long-term stewardship trust;
(II) Preserve and enhance the beauty, natural values, open space, and wildlife
of the state for current and future generations;
(III) Promote long-term productivity for agriculture;
(IV) Provide for sustainable, equitable, and low-conflict recreational
opportunities on state trust lands, including an evaluation of how to minimize
impacts of recreational access on existing agricultural leases of state trust lands;
and
(V) Identify management options for the utilization of natural resources on
state trust lands to conserve the long-term value of the state trust lands while the
state board of land commissioners carries out its fiduciary duties.
(b) The work group's recommendations shall not be construed to alter or
impair the validity of any existing leases on state trust lands or to limit the state
board's ability to continue using a multiple-use management approach for
consideration of future leases on state trust lands.
(2) The work group's study must include, at a minimum:
(a) Soliciting regional partnership initiatives and counties to identify state
trust land parcels that hold unique opportunities for regional recreation,
conservation activities, and agricultural opportunities;
(b) A review of state trust land parcels for opportunities to advance
conservation, climate resiliency, water resources, or habitat connectivity, including
conservation or agricultural leases or permanent protection, including through
sales and intertrust swaps;
(c) Identification of state trust land parcels that present unique
opportunities for conservation and educational purposes, which identification may
include recommendations as to whether and how long-term disposition of parcels
should occur, including lease, easement, or fee title acquisition for conservation
purposes such as habitat restoration or ecosystem services. Identification of
parcels must include consideration of:
(I) State park and state wildlife area creation or expansion, including through
the use of the internal improvements and saline trusts;
(II) Future long-term management solutions for parks and wildlife areas
currently leased or utilized by the division of parks and wildlife, including Lone
Mesa state park and Queens state wildlife area;
(III) Current and future public use by schoolchildren for outdoor recreation
and educational purposes; and
(IV) High-value lands used to improve climate-resilient conservation and
recreation opportunities, including those lands with:
(A) Important habitat for species of greatest conservation needs;
(B) High-priority habitats, as defined in section 34-60-132 (1)(n), identified by
the division of parks and wildlife;
(C) Wetlands and riparian areas;
(D) Habitat connectivity; and
(E) Agricultural opportunities;
(d) Recommendations regarding actions to advance conservation and
recreation on state trust lands based in part on an analysis of conservation
measures and public recreation access and management solutions on state trust
lands in other states and consideration of private property rights of lessees and
adjacent landowners, including:
(I) An evaluation of the challenges and opportunities associated with public
recreational access on state trust lands, including ways to reduce conflicts with
and impacts to existing lessees and consideration of any applicable lessons from
other states regarding management of recreation on state trust lands;
(II) Opportunities for the state board of land commissioners to utilize
nonperpetual conservation leases in accordance with section 10 of article IX of the
state constitution; and
(III) Methods for implementing the tools described in subsection (2)(d)(II) of
this section, including valuation of conservation leasing opportunities and
consideration of long-term value;
(e) Consideration of potential net revenue changes or management changes
when identifying state trust land parcels for examination;
(f) Consideration of the internal improvements and saline trusts, including
the development of recommendations for use of the internal improvements and
saline trusts to ensure maximum public benefit for advancement of the division of
parks and wildlife's mission, including consideration of:
(I) Outdoor recreation and wildlife conservation; and
(II) Transferring title of land within the internal improvements and saline
trusts to the division of parks and wildlife;
(g) An assessment of opportunities to continue and expand upon sound
stewardship and land management practices through agricultural leases and
opportunities to advance long-term management for agricultural leases on state
trust land parcels, including those parcels in the long-term stewardship trust;
(h) An assessment of state trust land parcels in the long-term stewardship
trust, which assessment includes the identification of stewardship trust properties
with existing uses or long-term impacts that are incompatible with primarily
protecting and enhancing beauty, natural values, open space, and wildlife habitat.
Some leases may be presumed compatible, such as Colorado natural areas
program leases, the division of parks and wildlife leases, conservation leases,
ecosystem services leases, and agricultural leases.
(i) Recommendations to:
(I) Evaluate long-term stewardship trust properties or portions of
stewardship trust properties in which the existing use or uses create long-term
impacts that are incompatible with primarily protecting and enhancing beauty,
natural values, open space, and wildlife habitat; and
(II) Develop a proposed process to timely address any incompatibility,
including by the removal and nomination of other state trust land properties as
replacement parcels with qualifying values and equivalent acreage;
(j) Evaluation and reporting on the long-term value, including the option
value, of long-term stewardship trust assets;
(k) Recommendations regarding rigorous review standards of future leases
of stewardship trust parcels to better preserve long-term benefits and returns to
the state, including requirements to evaluate the division of parks and wildlife's
high-priority habitats, as defined in section 34-60-132 (1)(n); habitat connectivity;
wetland and riparian resources; the presence of conservation easements; existing
land stewardship practices; rare plants and plant communities; important wildlife
species; cultural resources; paleontological resources; and geologic resources; and
(l) Recommendations on how to improve public engagement of appropriate
stakeholders, including local governments, state agencies, federal agencies, and
tribal nations, in the consultation and notification process used for new leases or
uses of long-term stewardship trust parcels.
(3) On or before February 1, 2026, the state board of land commissioners
shall:
(a) Review all existing leases on long-term stewardship trust parcels to
determine whether the lands are managed primarily to preserve long-term returns
and benefits to the state, including to protect and enhance the lands' beauty,
natural values, open space, and wildlife habitat and provide a report of the same
matters to the work group;
(b) Provide to the work group, to the extent the information is available, a
report regarding all occasions since 1996 in which a lease proposed for a
stewardship trust parcel was denied as incompatible with primarily protecting and
enhancing beauty, open space, natural values, and wildlife habitat;
(c) Provide to the work group, to the extent possible, documentation of lease
stipulations that highlight measures to protect and enhance beauty, open space,
natural values, and wildlife habitat when leasing stewardship trust lands; and
(d) Provide to the work group an analysis of public recreational access and
management solutions on state trust lands in other states, including hunting,
fishing, water access sites, motorized and nonmotorized trails, camping, and
wildlife viewing, and an analysis of how those states minimize impacts to current
leases on the same parcel.