Palmer Land Conservancy proposes farmland project and asks council to explore Pueblo Mountain Park easement

Palmer Land Conservancy representatives presented an overview of local conservation work Monday and asked the Pueblo City Council to begin exploring a potential conservation easement for the city‑owned Pueblo Mountain Park.

Dylan O’Hare, senior conservation manager, said Palmer is Pueblo’s local land trust and has conserved about 140,000 acres across its service area, with more than 100,000 acres in working farms and ranches. He described the Bessemer Farmland Conservation Project, which Palmer has led for roughly 10 years in eastern Pueblo County to respond to planned “dry up” of irrigation on parts of the Bessemer Ditch. Palmer said Pueblo Board of Water Works purchased roughly a third of Bessemer Ditch shares (about 5,000 shares) in 2009 and leased the water back to farmers; those leases are scheduled to expire in 2039.

O’Hare described Palmer’s legal and water‑management work to keep productive farms in irrigation, saying the conservancy closed on a 620‑acre farm in Avondale this year and is leasing it to a local farmer while working to “reunite this highly productive farm…with permanent water shares” so the farm will not dry up after 2039. He said the conservancy’s approach aims to protect the city’s water security while preserving local agricultural economies.

Jolene Collins, Palmer’s community engagement manager, summarized youth and outreach programs Palmer runs or supports in Pueblo: the fifth annual Bike the Bessemer event on Oct. 4, Generation Wild (a Great Outdoors Colorado‑funded program aimed at getting kids outside) and “Bikes and Birds” programming to connect children with outdoor recreation and birding. Collins said Palmer is also fiscal agent for the Generation Wild initiative and is collaborating with the Nature and Wildlife Discovery Center and nine core program partners.

On the Pueblo Mountain Park — a 600‑acre site the city purchased in 1920 — O’Hare asked the council to consider a conservation easement to “ensure that Pueblo Mountain Park is here for citizens of Pueblo for generations to come.” He explained what a conservation easement is: “a voluntary and legally binding agreement between a landowner and a certified conservation easement holder…meant to protect conservation values,” and said the upfront due diligence and drafting costs for an easement typically range from about $75,000–$100,000. Palmer told the council it intends to fundraise the upfront cost if the city wishes to proceed.

Council members asked for clarification about easement terms, financial implications and how community input would be used; Palmer said the city, as landowner, would define the specific allowed and prohibited uses and that Palmer would provide technical support and community engagement.

Ending: Palmer asked to continue individual briefings with council members and to provide more detailed due‑diligence information about a possible conservation easement for Pueblo Mountain Park; council members confirmed interest and asked for follow‑up information.