Pueblo County adopts resolution backing protection of public lands after public input

The Pueblo County Board of County Commissioners on Thursday approved a resolution declaring support for keeping public lands in public hands and opposing their sale or disposal, with revisions to include state-managed lands and language recognizing conveyances and partnerships for ranching, farming, forestry and energy development.

The resolution, adopted during the regular meeting, adds state agencies to the list of entities whose stewardship the board said it values and edits the title and body language to replace references to only “national” lands with broader references to public lands while clarifying that some conveyances or exchanges may be appropriate when they serve public benefit.

Commissioners discussed several textual changes at length before opening the item to public comment. The changes the board agreed to include adding state agencies to the list of land managers, removing or qualifying the word “transfer” in the title to avoid excluding routine conveyances, and inserting language that conservation should be balanced with uses such as ranching, farming, forestry and energy development.

Public commenters who addressed the board during the item stressed different priorities. Sally Sharp of Great Old Broads for Wilderness thanked the board and noted that land conveyances are governed by Bureau of Land Management regulations and that any conveyance must meet specific criteria. A Pueblo West resident, Cleo Corsizar, asked what “energy development” might include; the board and staff answered that the term could cover oil, gas, coal or other energy resources and that hypothetical scenarios would require separate permitting and review processes. Valerie Harper, also of Pueblo West, asked the board to check the resolution language on clean water and environmental protections; a commissioner responded that the resolution is largely ceremonial and that enforcement and oversight often involve state and federal agencies.

Board staff read a revised draft into the record that lists federal land management agencies by name — National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation and Bureau of Land Management — and says the board opposes “broad and indiscriminate efforts to sell or otherwise dispose of national and state public lands” while recognizing the federal government’s authority for national security uses. The draft resolution also directs that copies be sent to state and federal elected officials and federal agency leaders.

After public comment and the agreed wording changes, the board voted to adopt the resolution. The vote was announced as unanimous.