Votes at a glance: Board approves lease renewals, land acquisition and sales, electric‑storage lease and RFP awards
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Summary
At its October meeting the Colorado State Land Board approved multiple formal actions: a contested agricultural lease renewal, a replacement property acquisition, the sale of surface land for a new Northern Water reservoir (with a 99‑year no‑surface‑occupancy), awards for the Chancellor Ranch RFP, a new battery storage production lease, renewal of
The Colorado Board of State Land Commissioners took several formal actions at its October meeting, including decisions on agricultural leases, a replacement property acquisition, a surface‑sale for a reservoir project, awards for a large RFP and a battery storage lease. All votes recorded in public session were unanimous (5–0).
Key outcomes (motions and votes) - Lease renewal after competitive review (Otero/Crowley grazing lease, ~11,500 acres): staff recommended renewal to the incumbent lessees (Double O7 Cattle Company LLC and MJ Cattle Company) after an applicant (Annie and Kyle Meyer) filed a request for review asserting they were denied adequate access and information during the competitive process. After presentations from staff, the applicant and the incumbent lessee, the board approved staff’s recommendation to award the renewal to the incumbent lessees; motion carried 5–0.
- Lake Fork Ranch replacement property acquisition: staff recommended use of non‑simultaneous exchange (NSE) funds to acquire the Lake Fork Ranch (just under 800 acres) as a geographic and revenue diversification opportunity tied to the board’s recreation, ecosystem services and water portfolio strategies. The board approved acquisition authority and delegated staff the ability to negotiate a seller leaseback; they also authorized immediate repair funds of up to 1% of the final purchase price for first‑two‑year maintenance. Motion carried 5–0.
- Larimer County disposal to Northern Water and 99‑year NSO: staff recommended offering about 1,160 acres of state School Trust surface for public bid, at the appraised value of $7,000 per acre (total about $8.12 million). Staff also sought approval to require a conditional 99‑year no‑surface‑occupancy (NSO) on roughly 1,360 acres of minerals (valued in staff analysis at ~$3.06 million) so surface purchasers would not disturb or access the mineral estate for that period. Northern Water is the principal public agency seeking the land to create a reservoir (NISP/Glade reservoir‑scale project); staff explained the sale would likely strand some mineral acreages (stone/limestone), and recommended an NSO that includes a mechanism permitting removal of land from the NSO simultaneously with a mining lease if the material is needed to construct the dam. The board approved the disposal and the 99‑year NSO contingency; motion carried 5–0.
- Chancellor Ranch RFP awards (50,000+ acres): after a public RFP staff recommended Shequok (Shequok Cattle Company) for a 10‑year agriculture grazing lease and KB Outdoors Inc. for a 10‑year recreation hunting lease. The board approved both awards 5–0.
- Battery energy storage production lease (Moffat County, Morrell/Plus Power): staff presented a 32‑acre production lease for a 200‑megawatt grid battery facility near Craig, including a multi‑year preconstruction period, construction term and a 25‑year production term, with up‑front payments (installation and preconstruction fees), an access‑road easement payment, a $225,000 bond and a $64,000/year production rent with a 2% annual escalator. Staff noted local approvals and an energy‑storage agreement with Tri‑State; the board approved the production lease 5–0.
- Other matters: the board approved an updated grazing policy to align with a new grazing‑rate formula; the board also approved the statewide leasing agenda and a multi‑item commercial/agriculture leasing slate during the business agenda. Those measures were approved with recorded votes (generally unanimous). The board also approved acquisition and disposition staff recommendations and authorized staff to finalize leases and contracts consistent with the votes.
Why it matters: The decisions move several large transactions and leasing decisions forward and will influence the board’s portfolio mix — adding a mountain replacement property, approving a revenue‑generating sale for a regional water project, awarding recreational and agricultural RFP leases on a large ranch and authorizing a grid‑scale battery lease. The Northern Water sale and its contingent NSO carry longer‑term implications for stranded mineral estate valuation and potential materials use in dam construction.
What to watch next: staff said it will return with implementation details for the Lake Fork acquisition (funding breakdown and workplan), refine NSO details and valuation techniques for the Larimer sale, and bring further updates on the Chancellor Ranch and the battery project as those work through permit and implementation steps. The Myers request‑for‑review file will remain in the public record; staff said they will incorporate lessons learned about access requests and competitive‑bid procedures into process improvements.
