Banded Peaks Ranch Colorado State University Program Plan Acquisition of Forest Legacy Conservation Easement On the Banded Peak Ranch March 17, 2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS Summary...…………………………………………………………………………………. 2 Forest Legacy Program Information………………………………………………… 2-3 Colorado State Forest Service………………………………………………………… 3 CSFS History, Role and Mission, Unique Programs………………………… 3-4 The Conservation Fund…………………………………………………………….. 4 Banded Peaks Ranch Conservation Easement…………………………………………. 4-7 Significance and Purpose of the Easement………………………………………….. 5 Physical Location and Setting……………………………………………………….. 6 Terrain and Vegetation………………………………………………………………. 7 Program Operating Cost Estimate…………………………………………………………… 7-8 Easement Appraisal/Environmental Assessment……………………………………………. 8 Appendices A. Map of the Property B. Letters of Support 1 SUMMARY Colorado State University requests authorization to accept title to a Conservation Easement on the Banded Peaks Ranch under the Forest Legacy Program to be managed by the Colorado State Forest Service. The two easements are for a total of 16,723 acres located in Archuleta County, Colorado. The Banded Peaks Ranch is located approximately 20 miles south of the community of Pagosa Springs, Colorado. The easement will be granted in perpetuity. In the spring of 2020, the USFS awarded the Banded Peaks Ranch with $7,000,000. A total of $7,000,000 for the acquisition of the Banded Peaks Ranch Conservation Easement will be received as part of the Forest Legacy Program. The Forest Legacy grant along with matching funds of $6,380,000 from a private foundation, as granted to The Conservation Fund, will be used to purchase the easement. There will be no donation claimed from the conservation easement. The Board of Governors has been asked to hold legal title to the Conservation Easement on behalf of the State of Colorado, because the Colorado State Forest Service is part of the Colorado State University System. The Purchase Agreement provides for a transfer of the Conservation Easements through Deeds of Conservation Easement and for a title insurance policy for the benefit of the Board. Acquisition of the Conservation Easement falls under the State’s definition of capital construction because it acquires a limited right-of-use to the land. Under the Conservation Easement, the seller relinquishes all rights to subdivision and development and agrees to manage the property under a Multi-Resource Management Plan approved by the Colorado State Forest Service. The CSFS has the right to enter the property to monitor its land use and insure all activities comply with the stewardship plan and provisions of the conservation easement. Active forest management will promote forest health and reduce the risk of loss from fire, insects, and disease. CSFS will maintain records of the property and its monitoring activities. FOREST LEGACY PROGRAM INFORMATION The Forest Legacy Program (FLP), a Federal program in partnership with states, supports state efforts to protect environmentally sensitive forestlands. The Forest Legacy Program has been in place since its creation under the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 (CFAA, 16 U.S.C.2103c). It was implemented in 1992 and amended in 1996 to offer a State Grant Program. Since its inception, all easements purchased under the Forest Legacy Program have remained intact as conservation easements. Conservation of environmentally sensitive forests is part of the Colorado State Forest Service mission. Through its participation in the Forest Legacy Program, a federal program in partnership with states, it supports efforts to protect environmentally sensitive forestlands. Designed to encourage the protection of privately owned forestlands, the Forest Legacy Program is a voluntary program. To maximize the public benefits it achieves, the program focuses on the 2 acquisition of partial interests in privately owned forestlands. The Forest Legacy Program helps states develop and carry out forest conservation plans. It encourages and supports acquisition of conservation easements, which are legally binding agreements transferring a negotiated set of property rights from one party to another, without removing the property from private ownership. Most Forest Legacy Program conservation easements restrict development, require sustainable forestry practices, and protect other conservation values. Colorado began participating in the Forest Legacy Program in 2000. Governor Owens petitioned the United States Forest Service to include Colorado in the Forest Legacy Program and at the same time designated the Colorado State Forest Service as the lead agency. The Forest Legacy Program requires identification of qualified Forest Legacy Areas in Colorado. An assessment of need and identification of the Forest Legacy Areas was completed in 2006, and an updated AON will be available in June of 2020. An annual call for project proposals is sent out to individuals, organizations and land trusts across Colorado. Proposals are rated according to criteria established by Colorado’s Forest Stewardship Coordinating Committee and recommendations are made to the State Forester. The project(s) selected by the Colorado State Forester then compete at the regional and finally at the national level for funding. The Forest Legacy Program is a federally funded program. The Colorado State Forest Service receives federal program funds to administer this program. COLORADO STATE FOREST SERVICE The Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) is an agency established by the Colorado State Constitution (reference C.R.S. 23-30-302). CSFS is established under the Board of Governors and administratively is one of the four main branches of Colorado State University (“CSU”). The CSFS is an educationally-based forestry organization that provides technical advice and direct assistance to private forest landowners, communities, counties, and other state agencies in the management, protection, and utilization of Colorado's forests. Its state office is on the CSU Campus and there are 18 district offices throughout the state. CSFS History, Role and Mission, Unique Programs The mission of the CSFS is to achieve stewardship of Colorado’s environment through forestry outreach and service. Specifically, CSFS strives to: •Achieve improvement of Colorado’s renewable natural resource base for values the public now regards important, while being sensitive to future needs • Provide for natural resource protection in mountains, plains, and urban settings from damaging effects of fire, insects, disease, wind, water, and people • Achieve public understanding of forestry’s role and value in a healthy environment; • Participate in non-profit and advisory boards • Coordinate forest management efforts among State agencies including the Division of Wildlife, State Parks, Office of Emergency Management, Department of Military Affairs, and Department of Transportation • Foster and promote soil erosion control on forestlands 3 • Conduct a forestry educational program with landowners regarding growing, harvesting, and marketing of forest products • Disseminate information and statistics concerning forests and forestry in the state • Conduct investigations and experiments tending to further the intent of this law • Report to the Executive Director of the Department of Natural Resources at such times and on such matters as the Executive Director may require • Cooperate with all state agencies, which need and request aid and assistance from a professional forester THE CONSERVATION FUND The Colorado State Forest Service has worked with The Conservation Fund to obtain these valuable Conservation Easements. The Conservation Fund is a national, non-profit land conservation organization, and has been in business and operating in Colorado since its inception in 1985. They forge partnerships to conserve America’s legacy of land and water resources through land acquisitions and leadership training. They help facilitate land conservation transactions, working cooperatively with public and private partners. The Conservation Fund and its partners demonstrate sustainable conservation solutions that emphasize the integration of economic and environmental goals. The Conservation Fund has raised the matching monies needed for the Banded Peaks Ranch easement to be purchased with the federal Forest Legacy Grant, and has negotiated the easement on the property. The Conservation Fund has a strong history in Colorado. Perhaps the most notable project completed by the Conservation Fund, was the protection of the 21,000-acre Greenland Ranch, in southern Douglas County. BANDED PEAKS RANCH CONSERVATION EASEMENT Located in the high elevation forests of southwest Colorado, the 16,723 -acre Banded Peak Ranch project is a critical opportunity to complete the last large piece of several decades of public-private collaboration in the Navajo River Watershed, while also achieving Forest Legacy goals that will benefit Colorado and the nation. The Navajo River Watershed, including the Banded Peak Ranch is one of the few remaining areas in the state that is intact and pristine. Due to the many federal, state and private conservation investments adjoining and surrounding the Banded Peak Ranch, this project is an opportunity to complete the protection of an entire watershed comprised of forestlands, working ranches, and critical wildlife habitat. In 2000, The Conservation Fund completed the Navajo River Watershed Conservation Plan (“the Plan”) in conjunction with the Colorado Division of Wildlife,