The Colorado State Board of Land Commissioners will meet in Durango and visit surrounding areas next week as they discuss statewide issues and hold workshops with local officials.

The first workshop is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Thursday and includes a local government roundtable with commissioners from La Plata and Montezuma counties.

Topics for Thursday afternoon include renewable energy projects, rights of way issues, board policies and a supplemental oil and gas tract list.

The supplemental oil and gas land tract list involves land in Dolores County. The state board reviewed three tracts of land and placed a surface condition on a 160-acre tract of land that has state-owned minerals. The condition limited exploration to seasonal and added operation restrictions on the lease. One of the surface owners, Larry Latimore, told the board staff he wanted a surface access use agreement with whoever buys the lease through auction. The board will consider removing the seasonal restriction and include the agency’s standard stipulation.

Land commissioners will tour a parcel of land in San Juan County that evening.

The meetings continue Friday with another tour for the land commissioners. They are scheduled to tour the Old Fort Lewis field station near Hesperus. It’s located 14 miles southwest of Durango on State Highway 140. The former military reservation, also known as the Hesperus Trust, contains 6,278 acres. Surface and mineral rights are owned by the state of Colorado with the State Land Board serving as trustee for Fort Lewis College, the sole beneficiary of these trust lands. Revenues from surface leases, mineral and timber production are deposited into the FLC Hesperus account. Friday also includes a workshop with college officials or trustees.

The state land board manages assets held in perpetual, intergenerational and public trusts for the financial support of Colorado’s public schools and other public institutions.

smueller@durangoherald.com