State Land Board Steinhoff Hills Exploratory Gravel Mining

[bob...@whiskeybelleranch.com]

Enclosed is a letter with my comments, thanks for your consideration of
my opinion in advance. Bob

[John Kefalas]

Hello Bob,

Good morning Christian,

Good to hear from you and Alanna, and 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 matter thoughtfully, transparently, and with common sense. We will be grounded in 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 this coming week. Please feel free to reach out to Lesli (cc'd) if you would like to discuss the issue further at this time, and my cell number is listed below if you wish to speak with me directly.

I also appreciate your suggestions regarding the need for access to gravel for road and bridge, and the potential impact of Glade Reservoir and the realignment of HWY 287. This past Thursday, we had two folks from Northern Water provide a NISP update at our Wellington Community Conversation. It looks like they continue to move ahead, although there could be some adjustments to the overall scope of the water storage/delivery project. Construction for the highway realignment is scheduled to begin in the Fall of 2026 and be completed in 2028 (about 18 months.) Updating of the 2019 comprehensive plan is an identified need in the coming years. 

	John Kefalas (he/him) County Commissioner, District 1
	Commissioners' Office 200 W Oak St | 2nd Floor PO Box 1190, Fort Collins, CO 80522-1190 W: (970) 498-7001 Cell:  (720) 254-7598 jkef...@larimer.org | www.larimer.org