A look at a land lease program in Colorado that’s benefiting schools

The Rocky Mountains make a picturesque backdrop for the daily routine of Nick Trainor, a fifth generation cattle rancher based in Watkins, Colorado. When he began building his own ranch a decade ago, Trainor adopted a mindset that included holistic grazing. His dedication to the concept helped him find a unique leasing opportunity designed to help the land, his ranching operations, and schools across the state of Colorado.

Nick Trainor, Owner Trainor Cattle Company: “I leased several private ranches getting started. Um, and then when this lease came up, it was big enough. I was scattered around on several different smaller leases. This one, um, was big enough that I could move my fan family here and, and we could ranch full time. ” 

Trainor went after the opportunity to lease land from the Colorado State Land Board. The state agency owns roughly three million acres and is tasked by the Colorado Legislature with leasing parcels of land to agricultural and energy interests. 

The length of a lease varies, depending on the specific type of agreement. The rates are lower than private land leases, but higher than the amount federal government agencies, the Bureau of Land Management and Department of Forestry among them, charge for grazing. 

Trainor leases land on the 24,000 acre Lowry Ranch, located 30 minutes east of Denver. His lease allows him to graze 400 to 900 cattle annually, depending on the breed. 

Nick Trainor, Owner Trainor Cattle Company: “The way this lease is structured, you know, we've got a really good inventory on the grass and you know, when and drought events are coming like right now, we're already in conversations about how those numbers need to be adjusted. Um, and you know, we talked through the problem and, and come up with a, with a plan.”

Rather than a normal tenant and landlord arrangement, leases with the state of Colorado encourage the establishment of working relationships between the lessor and lessee.   

Rachel Turner, District Manager, Colorado State Land Board: “My main responsibility is to do inspections on our agriculture leases, which is probably my favorite part of my job. That's where I get to go out and meet with our lessees and get a tour through ranches and farms throughout Colorado.”

Rachel Turner is the District Manager for the North Central District for the Colorado State Land Board. Turner’s office encompasses 480,000 acres of Centennial State landscape.

Rachel Turner, District Manager, Colorado State Land Board: ”As district manager, I do a lot of other things. So I work with oil and gas and renewable energies, um, work a lot with the forest service recently and anything and everything that comes in.”

The Colorado State Land Board contains six districts with a designated manager for each. Currently, the Colorado State Land Board has roughly 7,000 active leases with over 2,000 devoted to  agriculture.

Turner notes, the lease agreements encourage teamwork between State Land Board officials and the farmers and ranchers of Colorado with the shared purpose of caring for the land.

Rachel Turner, District Manager, Colorado State Land Board: “We really rely on our agriculture lessees. They are the knowledge base. They know that land better than anybody else. Um, like I said, they, many of 'em live next door or have been on the land since be, well, some of them before statehood.”

For Trainor, leasing with the Colorado State Land Board has been a major benefit for his operation.

Nick Trainor, Owner Trainor Cattle Company: “It's more of a partnership. Um, and that's what makes it work. And, you know, that was one of the really appealing things to me whenever they put the RFP out there was, you know, it, it was structured correctly from the get go that, hey, we're gonna work together to meet these common goals. And, you know, by and large, and I think they'd say the same thing. It's been a huge success.”

Many lessees have deep family roots in Colorado, with some lease agreements stretching back decades. That dedication to the land, coupled with the ranchers' devotion to community, helps the State Land Board with the other half of its unique mission.

Rachel Turner, District Manager, Colorado State Land Board: “One of the biggest benefits of working with the state, /The rent goes directly back to the school kids and that's one huge benefit that their lessees really appreciate cuz they know what's going back into their community and it's being used for good.” 

Since 1876, funds accrued from State Land Board leases have been allocated to the state’s Building Excellent Schools Today or BEST program. Through the Colorado Department of Education, school districts can apply for BEST grants to help offset costs for construction projects and school improvements. To date, the BEST program has awarded over $1.6 billion in grants. 

The nearly century and a half year old program has been labeled a lifeline for rural communities like Brush, Colorado which was searching for a way to replace two aging schools with a limited amount of resources.

Bill Wilson, Superintendent, Brush RE2J School District: “In 2016, we went to our voters and said, we need a, essentially a $60 million, middle school and high school, and the state will pay for half of it. 

With the funds from the BEST program, the Brush Community School District was able to build a state of the art combined middle and high school. The grant also helped the District find additional funds to provide new avenues of learning for students.

Bill Wilson, Superintendent, Brush RE2J School District: “You know, there are a lot of vocations out there that don't require a typical four year or six year college degree. And so we, we were very intentional about our what's called CTE career and technical coed programs, and making sure that we're providing our students opportunities in as many different areas as possible.”

Opened in 2019, the new Brush school boasts a fully certified USDA kitchen, multiple skilled labor and  technical platforms. The school aims to help the community thrive while educating the next generation.

Bill Wilson, Superintendent, Brush RE2J School District: “Whatever we can do, we need to do because otherwise we are unintentionally failing the next generation, that's gonna be taking care of you and me and, and running our world.”

Trainor, Wilson and Turner all agree that whether you are a cattle rancher leasing state land, a state land board employee helping take care of the land, or an educator striving to provide the best learning experience, the entire community wins in the end. 

Rachel Turner, District Manager, Colorado State Land Board: “It's not only today's school children, but we're properly managing land for future generations as well.”

For Market to Market, I’m John Torpy.