Too often, the challenges facing our public lands are framed as a choice between development and conservation, profit and protection, jobs and wildlife. We are told that if we want economic prosperity, we must accept environmental losses, and if we want to preserve landscapes, we must sacrifice opportunity.
Colorado is trying something different.
Over the past several decades, our state has been steadily challenging that old paradigm and asking a more difficult question: What if we could do both? What if we managed state lands in a way that generates revenue today while preserving natural resources for the generations that follow?
That question is at the heart of a recent effort by the Colorado State Land Board and a diverse volunteer working group charged with reimagining how state trust lands are managed. Their goal was not to choose between conservation and economic productivity but to identify ways those objectives can support one another.
Many Coloradans don’t realize that the state owns nearly 3 million acres of trust lands scattered across Colorado, making it the second largest landowner after the federal government. These lands were granted by the federal government at statehood to help fund public education; a mission they still hold today.
Historically, revenue from state trust lands has come primarily from oil and gas development, mineral extraction and agricultural grazing leases. In fact, energy development generates 82% of annual revenue for beneficiaries, while about 96% of state trust lands are leased for agricultural purposes. Yet many parcels are not viable for either grazing or resource extraction but may hold value that has never been fully explored.
The ethos on managing state trust lands shifted in 1996 when Colorado voters approved Constitutional Amendment 16, affirming that the economic productivity of state trust lands depends on sound stewardship, including protecting and enhancing their beauty, natural values, open space and wildlife habitat.
Building on that principle, the legislature passed House Bill 25-1332 in 2025, creating a broad working group of representatives from agriculture, conservation, recreation, energy, local government, education, housing and Indigenous communities. The group’s final report recommends updates to policies and practices that would help the state land board maximize opportunities that combine conservation and revenue generation.
The possibilities are substantial. Future revenue streams may come not only from traditional leasing but also from carbon sequestration credits, wildlife habitat mitigation banks, wetland restoration projects, renewable energy development, conservation leasing and strategic land exchanges. The report also encourages exploring housing opportunities and other creative partnerships that meet community needs while supporting trust beneficiaries.
An excellent local example can be found in the proposed Valley Range solar project in Montezuma County, which would include leasing state lands adjacent to the fairgrounds. Working with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the project developers and the state land board incorporated wildlife corridors into the project design and proposed to lease an additional 700 acres for further wildlife habitat conservation. This plan demonstrates that renewable energy production, habitat conservation and increased state revenue can all occur on the same landscape.
As our physical and cultural world continues to change, innovation is becoming just as important as preservation. The state land board is demonstrating that responsible stewardship is not about stopping change. It is about directing change toward outcomes that benefit schools, communities, wildlife and future generations alike.
In a time when national leadership often frames conservation as opposed to economic development, Colorado is showing there may be a better way forward: one that thinks greener, and smarter, at the same time.
Ryan Huggins is the executive director for the San Juan Citizens Alliance. Reach her at ryan@sanjuancitizens.org
