Managing State Trust Lands Fiduciary Duty in the Changing West

Colorado Trust Land

click map to enlarge	Colorado State Land Board 1313 Sherman Street, #621 Denver, CO 80203 303-866-3454
Of Interest	Colorado Trust Lands and Education Funding
State Resources	Colorado State Board of Land Commissioners, 2005 Annual Report Trust Land Management in Colorado Colorado FY 2007-07 Revenues
Current Land Holdings	3 million surface acres (67 percent of original land grant of 4.5 million acres)
Uses	agriculture, grazing, timber, mining of oil, gas, coal and minerals, commercial leases, and land sales for commercial development
Primary Revenue Source	coal, oil, and gas revenues and royalties
Trust Requirements	Lands are held in trust pursuant to the state enabling act, which does not expressly indicate that these lands are to be held in trust, but does identify a series of restrictions on disposals of these lands and also requires the establishment of a permanent school fund. Lands are managed by the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, Colorado State Land Board, a five-member stakeholder board appointed by the governor with the consent of the Senate, and led by a director who is appointed by the board.
Beneficiaries	common schools public buildings penitentiaries or prisons a state university Saline Lands Trust and the Internal Improvements Trust (to benefit state parks) Colorado State University Trust Hesperus Trust (to benefit Fort Lewis College)