State Land Board
The Colorado State Land Board stewards a $4 billion endowment of assets -- including 2.8 million acres of surface land and four million acres of mineral estate-- in order to earn money for Colorado public schools. Trust land is leased for many uses and the rent is distributed to schools.
Visit the State Land Board Site
Dr. Nicole Rosmarino
Director of State Land Board
The State Board of Land Commissioners is made up of five citizen volunteers, chosen by the Governor and confirmed by the Colorado State Legislature. Commissioners are appointed to four-year terms, and are limited to two consecutive terms.
The Colorado Constitution requires that four of our five Commissioners have substantial experience in four separate areas. However, they do not represent the interest of a particular sector, they represent the interest of the beneficiaries.
- Public K-12 education
- Production agriculture
- Local government
- Nature resources
With the consent of the Governor, the Commissioners hire a Director and the Director hires staff to perform the administrative activities of the State Land Board. The State Land Board is housed within the Department of Natural Resources and has close cooperative relationships with many state agencies in order to help serve the State Land Board’s beneficiaries.
Dr. Nicole Rosmarino’s work experience spans nearly 30 years in natural resource management and natural resource policy in Colorado, most recently as the Senior Policy Advisor for Wildlife, Agriculture, and Rural Economic Development in the Office of the Governor.
Rosmarino holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Her academic focus was on management of at-risk wildlife species and native ecosystems. She has a long history of working with diverse groups, including agricultural producers, conservation organizations, local governments, and recreational users, to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.
Boards and Commissions Info
- State Board of Land Commissioners
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The Colorado State Land Board is a constitutionally created agency that manages a $4.1 billion endowment of assets for the benefit of Colorado’s K-12 schoolchildren. The Land Board earns money for public schools by leasing 2.8 million surface acres and 4 million subsurface acres for agriculture, recreation, commercial real estate, rights-of-way, renewable energy, oil, gas, solid minerals, and more.
Leasing operators are subject to all local, state, and federal regulations and must obtain all necessary permits prior to operation. Lessees must also comply with the Land Board's strict stewardship stipulations. Stewardship matters to the Land Board because trust lands need to be able to earn money for not only today's public schools, but also future generations of schoolchildren. Learn more about stewardship.
Trust land is not open to the public unless it is leased for recreation; 770,000 acres of trust land is made publicly available for limited sportsmen activities through Colorado Parks and Wildlife's Public Access Program.
The Colorado State Land Board is the primary funding source for the Department of Education’s Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) program, and the agency has distributed $2 billion to public schools in the past 15 years. Unlike most state agencies, the Land Board is entirely self-funded and receives no tax dollars. View the annual report.