SITLA-led bill cleared by committee after local officials press protections for 'Promise Rock'

The Senate Natural Resources Committee unanimously passed House Bill 64 as amended after Representative Carl Albrecht described a collaborative approach with the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA) to permit counties to nominate culturally or scientifically significant sites on trust lands.

Representative Albrecht said the bill grew out of discussions with Garfield County over a site commonly called "Promise Rock" and would create a process for counties to identify and nominate land parcels on SITLA trust lands for special consideration. The substitute limits eligible nominations primarily to 4th, 5th and 6th class counties and requires a county to submit a nomination within 24 months when notified by SITLA.

Michelle McConkie, SITLA director, told the committee the measure formalizes a collaborative process and noted constitutionally required market-value compensation where sale or conservation would change trust-land management. Garfield County Commissioner Polak described strong local support for protecting Promise Rock and said hundreds of signatures opposed nearby development. Kim Christie, director of SITFO (the trust fund office), said the office representing trust beneficiaries supports the bill in its current form.

Committee members asked whether certain one-off legislative protections (e.g., state-monument or park processes) might be appropriate in particular cases; sponsor and witnesses said counties and SITLA could pursue a range of outcomes including exchange, sale, conservation easements or transfer to state parks where appropriate. The committee adopted House Amendment 1 and voted to recommend the bill favorably to the full Senate.