No Strip mining in conservation landscape
Nancy Carpenter
Dear Commissioner Kefalas,
We have recently learned that the State Land Board has given Larimer County Road and Bridge an exploratory lease to potentially mine sand and gravel on the Steinhoff Hill property off CR 37N. This parcel sits between 2 conserved ranches and is a wildlife corridor that connects to CPW lands to the west. The parcel is in the stewardship trust, which I believe has a mission to prioritize activities that promote natural resource health over natural resource extraction.
We understand roads need to be maintained and mining for that material is a reality. However, we believe that this location within a conservation landscape is not compatible with the surrounding land uses of ranching and wildlife conservation.
We deeply appreciate that in the last 6 months, you and the other commissioners and staff have invested over $13M to conserve private ranches in the Livermore area. One of which is immediately adjacent to the Steinhoff Hill property and the other private ranch was conserved in the 1990s and 2000s. As you know over the last 30 years the county and many other organizations, in partnership with private landowners, have invested inordinate amounts of time and resources to ensure this watershed prioritizes the health of its unique natural resources and supports compatible land uses such as local food production.
We hope you might help the road and bridge department better align actions with the department of natural resources. We also hope it might be possible for you to assist with finding an alternative location that is a much more compatible with the adjacent land uses.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Nancy Carpenter
1399 Andrews Park Road
Livermore, CO 80536
Jim Carpenter
Dear Nancy & Jim,Good morning, and hope you folks are enjoying the snow; it must be a winter wonderland in your neck of the woods. We've gotten about 4"+ here in town so far. Thank you for sharing your concerns about the exploratory work on the Steinhoff Hill parcel, and we have heard from other Livermore neighbors with similar concerns. With the help of Lesili Ellis, our Community Planning, Infrastructure and Resources Director, we have prepared this response for your consideration. Certainly, better coordination is needed between the Larimer County Road and Bridge and Natural Resources Departments, given the sensitivity of this landscape. We are taking steps to ensure improved communication and alignment moving forward and that the County Commissioners are informed and can give direction.
We appreciate the long-standing stewardship by the families in the area and the important conservation work that has taken place in this part of the watershed, especially through conservation easements with landowners. We also recognize the significance of the State Land Board lands, including their stewardship trust status. Your concern about how exploratory activity might align with these values and investments is understandable.
The rationale for the Road and Bridge Department for this exploratory work is to try to understand longer-term gravel resource options in the general vicinity. The limited test work at Steinhoff Hill is in the earliest exploratory stage, and there is no certainty that it will lead to a proposal or a workable balance. No additional activity on the State Land Board site is imminent. If testing were to indicate that a mining proposal has merit, it would require substantial additional steps: more interdepartmental coordination, discussions with SLB and CPW, evaluation of conservation impacts, and—if a proposal advances—public processes and hearings to determine whether objectives in this area can be balanced and what mitigation or restoration would be necessary.
Thank you again for raising your concerns. We will approach this thoughtfully and transparently, with a clear understanding of the conservation significance of this landscape, the need to weigh objectives carefully, and the values held by long-time residents and stewards. We, the Commissioners, expect to receive more information next week. Please feel free to reach out to Lesli (cc'd) if you would like to discuss the issue further at this time.
John Kefalas (he/him)
County Commissioner, District 1
Commissioners' Office
200 W Oak St | 2nd Floor
PO Box 1190, Fort Collins, CO 80522-1190
Cell: (720) 254-7598
