The Colorado State Land Board is considering leasing land for oil and gas production on the methane-gas rich Fruitland Outcrop, which has implications for domestic water wells and county roads.
Located north of County Road 228, the state-owned parcel is within the Florida Mesa Stewardship Trust, a 640-acre piece of land created in 2007 to protect wildlife habitat and is one of two stewardship trusts in La Plata County.
Tobin Follenweider, deputy director of the state land board of commissioners, said staff will review the parcel and make a recommendation to the board, which will vote on whether to pursue leasing, likely at its November meeting.
Local governments were notified of the parcel’s nomination for leasing, as part of the state land board’s process.
The Florida Mesa tract’s northeastern portion is critical winter elk habitat, and the northern border is steep terrain, so a future production site would likely be accessed from the south on County Road 228 and private roads in Rancho Mira Sol Estates.
Development could affect residents who use domestic wells.
La Plata County commissioners intend to submit comments by the Aug. 26 deadline expressing these concerns, and will discuss the matter at their Aug. 23 business meeting, at which time they will take public comments.
“Part of me says this does not look like a lot of bang for the buck in terms of the neighbors, roads and wells that could be impacted to get to one tract,” County Commissioner Julie Westendorff said. “Knowing the area, the topography and the roads, this doesn’t look like a really viable location, and we really don’t want any external costs to fall on taxpayers.”
The land is exempt from county permitting because it is owned by the state, but the county could benefit from severance taxes.
Because the land is within a stewardship trust, Follenweider said stipulations on timing of excavation and surface occupancy would apply to any development, in addition to Division of Water Resources standards and Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission regulations, which include a public input process.
Colorado’s stewardship trust lands are leased for a variety of uses including grazing, recreation and mineral extraction, and these uses have generated more than $100 million in revenue.
“The designated uses are compatible, but the stewardship trust doesn’t mean conservation or permanent conservation,” Follenweider said. “It means maintaining the land’s natural values.”
That distinction is concerning to Conservation Colorado, an environmental advocacy group.
“The state land board manages the board for profit, that’s their goal,” said field organizer Micha Rosenoer. “They’re not required to take a hard look at the impacts to water or the environment.”
Residents near County Road 228 and in Rancho Mira Sol said existing wells in the area have been good neighbors, but there are some concerns.
“We have a lot of wildlife here, and I’m afraid development would disrupt it,” said Stan Formby, a 10-year resident of Mira Sol Drive.
“There is a well not far from us that is operational, and it hasn’t been an issue,” said Polly Morgenstern, who lives on a 10-acre parcel on County Road 228. “My main concern is that they don’t throw litter out the windows of their trucks, which we’ve seen before, and our quality of life out here doesn’t change.”
jpace@durangoherald.com
This story has been updated to remove a quote from Conservation Colorado that incorrectly implied that the state land board wants a state takeover of public lands.
