Colorado Cattlemen'S Agricultural

“The colorado cattlemen's agricultural land trust (ccalt) is currently operating under a conservation easement stewardship, monitoring, and enforcement policy (the policy) originally approved by the board in 1999 and most recently renewed in 2025. Our policies ensure that ccalt will have the financial means necessary to continue our perpetual obligations to steward the conservation easements we have and will accept going forward. Ccalt's policies and procedures also ensure that ccalt will have the necessary documentation to enforce each conservation easement going forward. This includes accurate baseline files as well as proper documentation of stewardship issues which have occurred in the past. Ccalt's policies and procedures ensure we are tracking changes to conserved properties and compliance with our conservation easement terms. Landowner requests or the land trust's response for interpretation or changes to the deed of easement must be documented in writing. Notice of the exercise of a reserved right must also be documented. If a property changes hands, it is ccalt's policy to update our records and discuss the conservation easement with the new landowner or representative to ensure that they fully understand the restrictions set forth on their property. Ccalt has a policy of monitoring every easement on an annual basis. Monitoring usually includes a visit to the property in person but may also include aerial or remote monitoring. Ccalt's conflict of interest policy applies to the stewardship policy and no landowner may monitor their own property, nor shall ccalt board members monitor properties. Monitors of ccalt conservation easements will not make decisions in the field as to whether or not a situation is or is not a violation of the terms of the conservation easement. Instead, monitors will collect information on the item of concern. Upper-level staff will then evaluate the findings. If it is determined that a violation has occurred, a course of action is set to correct the violation. It is the stated policy of ccalt to enforce all of the terms of our conservation easements. It is the intention of the organization to avoid litigation, if possible, in the enforcement of any violation of a conservation easement. However, legal action may be required and any legal action, including the filing of injunctions, on the part of ccalt requires the adoption of a resolution of the board of directors.”

“Part ii, line 3: ccalt modified 5 conservation easements in the 2024-2025 fiscal year. Modifications included: (1) an amendment and restatement to add a future agricultural valuation term which limits re-sale value of the property for agricultural affordability. That amendment also tied additional water rights, sited the agricultural building envelope, added an agricultural storage area, eliminated the right to build one new residence, and set size limits on residences; (2) an amendment was completed to site a reserved building envelope, site the existing envelopes, place square footage limits on the residential structures, clarify restrictions around reserved agricultural structures, allow clustering of permitted dwellings, prohibit a severance of mineral rights, and add a transfer fee clause; (3) an amendment was completed to relocate three building envelopes, acknowledge the existing residences, correct the legal description of the property; allow the division and separate conveyance of a noncontiguous parcel which remained subject to the conservation easement, eliminate one of the remaining residential building envelope locations as a potential building site, clarify that there may be no more than eight residences on the property at any one time; and add square footage limits the residences; (4) an amendment was completed to relocate the 10-acre buildable envelope slightly south and reduce the size by one acre, clarify the subdivision to allow slight minor exterior fenceline adjustments divisions, allow temporary roads, prohibit mineral severances, add utilities to serve the property, and add a transfer fee; and (5) an amendment was completed to correct legal description, relocate the barn building area to less impactful site, clarify additional terms of the conservation easement to allow parcelization, replace the accessory structure individual size limit with an overall accessory structure square footage cap and correct square footage of structures in existence at the time of the conservation easement, change the square footage limit to enclosed area, reduce the size of the permitted secondary dwelling from 3,000 to 2,500 square feet of enclosed area, clarify the definition of minor agricultural structures, and add a transfer fee. All modifications followed ccalt's conservation easement modification policy, complied with section 170(h) of the united states internal revenue code, and were consistent with colorado revised statutes sections 38-30.5- 101, et seq. One conservation easement had an extinguishment action taken against it when the colorado department of transportation (cdot) condemned 0.804 acres along a highway to add rockfall netting. Title to the 0.804-acre parcel was granted to cdot and the conservation easement on that parcel was terminated through a court order. Ccalt did not transfer or release any conservation easements in 2024-2025. Part ii, line 9: the organization receives gifts of conservation easements and grants towards the purchase of the conservation easements. The easements contain numerous restrictions over the use and development of land, which is not owned by the organization. The value of donated conservation easements is based on the appraised value as determined by an independent appraiser. Easements are recorded as revenue when received and an expense is recorded for an equal amount whether the conservation easement is held by the organization or transferred to an eligible entity. Grants received for the purchase of conservation easement are recorded as revenue and as a conservation easement expense when the easement is purchased. The value of easements is not reflected in the balance sheet because the easements have no economic value to the organization. The organization monitors activities on the land and enforces restrictions contained in both donated and purchased conservation easements. The organization holds 548 easements covering approximately 814,182 acres in 45 counties throughout”