HomeMy WebLinkAbout20110835.tiff STATE OF COLORADO
Governor
John Hickenlooper STATE BOARD OF LAND COMMISSIONERS
William E. Ryan, DivisionThrecior, 2J A A: 51
Department of Natural Resources = 1127 Sherman Street, Suite 300
Mike King, Executive Director _ A( Gs, 1R = Denver, CO 80203 — _
Phone: (303) 866-3454 • - - -•+ i
Fax: (303)866-3152
Managing
Weld County Commissioners State Trust Lands
915 10th Street Since 1876
P.O. Box 758
Greeley, CO 80632
March 24, 2011
Dear County Commissioners,
This letter is to inform you that the private lands identified in the enclosed document have been
nominated for inclusion into the Stewardship Trust established by the State Board of Land
Commissioners (hereinafter the State Land Board) pursuant to Article IX, Section 10(1)(b)(I) and C.R.S.
36-1-107.5. A copy of the Nomination Packet prepared by the nominator of these lands, the State Land
Board staff, is included for your review. These lands would be considered for designation into the
Stewardship Trust if a land-for-land exchange between the owners, Michael and Peggy Schutt, and the
State Land Board, were to occur. Such an exchange is now being considered by the State Land Board.
You are being notified by certified mail of this nomination pursuant to CRS 36-1-107.5(2). We request
that you comment on whether the existing uses and management practices on these parcels are in
compliance with your county land use regulations and land use plans as required in section 10(1)(c) of
article IX of the state constitution. You may also include in your assessment and reponse any other
factors you determine to be relevant for consideration of the lands for inclusion in the Stewardship Trust.
We request that you provide your comments to the State Land Board within 45 days of the receipt of this
notice. Your comments will be included in staff review and recommendations to the State Land Board
when it considers the nomination of these lands. Please address your comments in writing to the "Board
of Land Commissioners" and send them to my attention at State Land Board, 1127 Sherman St., Suite
300, Denver, CO 80203.
If the State Land Board determines that these lands meet certain standards for inclusion into the
Stewardship Trust, it may elect to immediately designate them into the Stewardship Trust, or place them
on its Replacement Property Designation List for designation at a later time during the ensuing year. If
you have any questions, please contact me at (303) 866-3454 extension 3318.
Sincerely,
Mindy Gottsegen
Stewardship Trust/Conservation Services Manager
Enclosure
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COMMISSIONERS:Buck Blessing,Michele A. Bloom,Richard L.Downey,Thomas R.Hoyt,Sandra A.Leinsdorf
Colorado State Board of Land Commissioners
The Stewardship Trust
What is the Stewardship Trust?
In November 1996, state voters approved the creation of the Stewardship Trust, a special designation of
state trust lands (i.e. "school sections") totaling between 295,000 and 300,000 acres whose long-term
economic productivity would be protected through enhanced management of their beauty, open space,
natural values and wildlife habitats. These lands represent approximately 10 percent of the three million
surface acres that the State Land Board manages to benefit eight trusts — the largest of which supports
kindergarten-12th grade education in Colorado. Today, the Colorado State Land Board's Stewardship
Trust comprises 295,923.79 acres involving 113 separate parcels throughout the state.
Uses on Stewardship Trust Lands
The Stewardship Trust does NOT guarantee that land will be open space forever or that the property
will not be used for such things as grazing, crop production, forestry, and mineral extraction. Rather,
parcels designated into the Stewardship Trust receive enhanced land-management attention based on
the beauty, open space, natural values and wildlife habitats they contain. As mandated by the Colorado
constitution, the State Land Board manages lands in the Stewardship Trust to maximize their use for
"continued stewardship, public use or future disposition." Stewardship Trust lands play their part,
along with all other state trust lands, in yielding reasonable and consistent income over time for the
trust beneficiaries. This means that in the vast majority of cases, existing uses such as grazing, crop
production, forestry and mineral extraction will continue after lands are designated into the Stewardship
Trust.
State Land Board staff can work with nominators and others who feel their community wants a
guarantee that a particular piece of state trust land will be protected forever - something the
Stewardship Trust cannot accomplish. Preservation tools available to nominators, neighbors and local
governments include outright purchase of state trust land, land-for-land exchange, and purchase of
conservation easements through an open, competitive bid process.
A"Living Entity" - Changes to Stewardship Trust Designations
The Stewardship Trust is a "living entity" in that land designated into the Stewardship Trust can be
removed by a "super majority" vote of four out of the five State Land Board Commissioners as long as it
is immediately replaced with an equal or greater-sized parcel. However, the removal of lands from the
Stewardship Trust does not occur frequently and must be preceded with extensive reviews. As a result,
the need for replacement designation parcels varies greatly from year to year. Some years the Board may
not remove any land from the Stewardship Trust; other years, it may remove one or more large parcels.
The Board considers and approves its Replacement Property Designation List each year, typically at its
June meeting, to be used for the ensuing calendar year. The properties on the list are not prioritized.
Nomination of a parcel for Stewardship Trust does not guarantee that it will be placed on the
Replacement Property Designation List - or that it will ever be designated into the Stewardship Trust.
State Land Board staff conducts a review process before taking a recommended list of replacement
properties to the Board each June. Reviewers include lessees, local and state government agencies and
other subject matter experts. The Board ultimately decides whether a recommended parcel should be on
the Replacement Property Designation List and whether it should be designated into the Stewardship
Trust.
March 2011
WEL 2011 -002
SIA LA RECEIVED D
1 I JAN 3, Pp I: 58
STEWARDSHIP TRUST NOMINATION
Weld County
Addition-Keota Section
Matt Pollart
North Central District- SLB
1/31/2011
Stewardship Trust Nomination:
Nominator and property information
This two-page form must be filled out and included with all nominations
Nominator Information:
1. Nominator The organization,agency or individual submitting the nomination.
Matt Pollan
North Central District Manager
Colorado State Board of Land Commissioners
130 Oak Ave. Suite 110
Eaton,CO
2. Nominator contact: The person who has day to day responsibility for the nomination-
and whom you want the Board to contact with any questions.
Matt Pollart,North Central District Manager
(970)454-5279(Phone) (Fax)
Matthew.Pollart@state.co.us
3. Partner(s): List group(s)or individuals(s)cooperating with the nominator in this
nomination. (Use additional sheet(s)for more partners; be sure to answer question 4 for
each)
4. Partner contact-
Name
Address
Phone# Fax#
E-mail
Property Information
5. Legal Decription:Section 31-T9N-R59W SW4W2
Use additional sheet(s)if necessary:
(Note:Accurate legal descriptions are vital so that we can be sure what parcel(s)you wish to
nominate. Please be precise,especially if you are nominating a number of parcels.)
6. Other description if legal description is not feasible.
7. Number of acres nominated: 80 acres-currently in Private ownership, This land is subiect to
a land-for-land exchange and would become State Trust Land pending completion of the
exchange.
(Remember: Only land currently owned by the Land Board is eligible for nomination.)
8. Common or local name for parcel you are nominating,if applicable:Addition-Keota Section
9. County(ies)in which parcel is located:Weld
10. Authorized Signature Matthew A.Pollart Date 1/31/11
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Attachment B: Property Profile
Stewardship Trust Nomination ID:
'Matt Pollart-SLW
Site Name:
Addition-Keota Section
Legal:
Section 31-T9N-R59W,SW4W2 .; 5
County:
Weld
Acreage.
80
State Natural Area Status:
unknown
Natural Values:
There is a prominent stone outcropping that transverses this parcel from east to west. This
is an extension of the geological feature that exists on section 36(currently in Stewardship
Trust as the Keota section). This area is known to contain numerous sites of archaeological
significance including several tipi rings. There are also numerous sites where pre-historic
mammal fossils are visible in the rock outcropping.
Js Site Part of a Larger Conservation Area?:
Section 36 is designated as part of the Keota Stone Circles Archaeological District.This
additional 80 acre parcel is directly adjacent to that parcel and is assumed to be similar in
significance.
List of Rare Plants.Animals and Plant Communities-with state ranks:
The Rankine System of the Colorado Natural Heritaee Program•
Each plant,animal or plant community is assigned a rank that indicates its relative degree of rarity or imperilment on a
five-point scale. The primary factor for ranking is the number of occurrences—the number of known,district localities
of populations. This factor is weighted more heavily because,all other factors being equal,a species found in one
place is more imperiled that one found in numerous places. Also considered are: the size of the geographic range,the
number of individuals,trends in both population and distribution,identifiable threats,and the number of already
protected occurrences. The following"S-ranks"("S"is for state)are used here:
S riticaily imperiled in the state because of rarity(5 or fewer occurrences in the state);or very few remaining
individuals;or because of some factor of its biology that makes it especially vulnerable to extinction.
S2-Imperiled in the state because of rarity(6 to 20 occurrences);or because of other factors demonstrably making it
very vulnerable to extinction.
S3=Vulnerable throughout its range or found locally in a restricted range(21 to 100 occurrences).
SU-Unable to rank due to lack of information
8=Breeding sites;for migratory bird species.
•SourceConservation Status Handbook,Colorado Natural Heritage Program, 1999.
Stewardship Trust Nomination:
Property evaluation questions
A. PROPERTY CONTEXT
1. What are the existing surface uses of the property(e.g.,grazing,mining)?
Crazing.
Please include if known(information optional):
Describe any local,regional,state or federal efforts that are consistent with—or conflict with---
managing to protect and enhance the beauty,natural values,open space,and wildlife habitat on
adjacent lands and/or regionally. (Attach relevant sections of documentation of these efforts—for
example,an open space plan that targets adjacent lands for protection.)
This parcel is adjoined to the south by Pawnee National Grasslands. These lands are under
the control of the US Forest Service and are managed and protected by that Agency.
B. STEWARDSHIP VISION
In 200 words or less,describe your reasons for nominating this property for enrollment in the
Stewardship Trust.
These lands are being nominated due to their extraordinary cultural and archaeological resources
and would be managed in a way to protect these resources. SLB has a unique opportunity to gain
title to a parcel of land that adjoins an existing parcel with these outstanding qualities. This new
parcel has been owned by the same family for many years and they have done a commendable job of
protecting the resources.
C. QUALITIES RELATED TO BEAUTY,NATURAL VALUES,WILDLIFE HABITAT OR OPEN
SPACE
I. Describe the specific natural resource,open space,beauty and/or wildlife habitat values
that support this property's designation into the Stewardship Trust. (For example,is the
parcel an important wildlife migration corridor? Does it provide habitat for threatened
species or include sensitive vegetation? Does it include a significant geological or visual
feature?)
There are numerous and significant cultural resources and archaeological sites in this area. In
addition,this particular stone outcropping is a unique geological feature. The rock outcropping also
provides habitat for many birds and small mammals.
2. Specifically state what enrollment and enhanced management of the nominated parcel
would do to protect and enhance the beauty,natural values,open space and wildlife
habitat values described above.
Addition of this new acreage to the Keota parcel would enlarge the protected area to encompass
about''%mile of additional rock outcropping to the east of the existing parcel. This will assist in
protection of additional cultural sites and wildlife habitat.
3. How urgent is it that the parcel be placed in the Stewardship Trust? What natural
resource,open space,beauty and/or wildlife habitat values will be lost if this property is
not designated now?
Please include if known:
Does the parcel contain any unique or significant cultural,historical or archeological
features? If yes,what are they?
This land is adjacent to the Keota Stone circles archaeological District as defined by the Colorado
Historical Society. The new land is extremely similar to that already in Stewardship Trust and is
believed to have similar values.
Introduction to Section D
If you are proposing a change in use or an additional use as part of your nomination,please make sure you
indicate how and by whom you expect the new use to be managed. At its discretion,the Board may ask
nominators who propose additional uses to submit a draft management plan. And please keep in mind:
I. The Board may designate a property but reject a proposed use;and
2. Current lessees will need to be involved in discussions regarding changes of use. If a nomination does
mot propose a change in use,the Board will assume that the current management regimen being
implemented by the Board and lessee(s)is effective and will remain in place.
D. MANAGEMENT&STEWARDSHIP OF PARCEL IF IT IS DESIGNATED
1. If the property is currently under lease,are the current and permitted uses compatible
with the vision outlined for this property in your Stewardship Vision? How?(Be
specific: What uses of the property are either compatible or incompatible and why?).
The parcel is currently used for livestock grazing along with the existing Stewardship Trust parcel.
The management of the parcel would not change from current and historical use In that it would be
added to the current grazing lease held by the Shull family. They have served as excellent Stewards
of these resources for three generations and would be the most qualified to continue that
management.
2. Does your Stewardship Vision include new public uses of the nominated property?
No.
Note: Designation of a parcel into the Stewardship Trust does not confer the right of
public access to any particular group or to the public as a whole.
3. If your Stewardship Vision for the property includes public recreation or other public
uses in the future,have you contacted an appropriate public agency or other organization
concerning taking on the necessary management,rule enforcement and maintenance
responsibilities? (Please indicate who will be responsible and attach letter of interest or
commitment from them.)
No new public access or uses.
When you're filling out this application,please keep in mind:
I. Although not every parcel must continue to generate current income,in general,lands in the
Stewardship Trust are expected to continue to generate income,including existing uses such as grazing,
crop production,mineral and oil and gas production and forest management—to the extent such uses can
be managed in ways that are compatible with long-term goals for protection of the land's natural
resource values. When appropriate,the Board may pursue other income-generating possibilities such as
leases for hunting or other recreation and conservation easements.
2. With a staff of only 35,the Land Board traditionally requires its lessees to assist in day-to-day
management of its lands. C.R.S.36-1-107.5,passed by the Legislature in 1997,requires the Board to
notify all lessees that a parcel they lease has been nominated for the Stewardship Trust,and give them
the chance to comment on the nomination.
3. The Land Board has entered into legal agreements with its lessees. Any proposal for changes in use that
might come about as the result of a parcel's designation in the Stewardship Trust would have to follow
due process and statutory requirements.
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