Forestry

C.R.S. tit. 36, art. 7
in effect

C.R.S. § 36-7-101 Tree defined

36-7-101. Tree defined. For the purposes of this article, the word "tree" means all vegetable growth of a woody texture of any size whatsoever. No lands contemplated in this law shall be leased for any purpose whatsoever that will destroy the tree growth.

C.R.S. § 36-7-102 Trees not to be cut

36-7-102. Trees not to be cut. No trees needed to conserve the snows, ice, or water of any irrigation district shall be cut from any part of the public domain, except as provided in this article.

C.R.S. § 36-7-103 Disposition of timber on state lands

36-7-103. Disposition of timber on state lands. (1) The state board of land commissioners, referred to in this article as the "board", is authorized to sell and otherwise dispose of timber on state lands; to secure the maximum possible amount therefrom, based upon cruised and appraised quantities thereon, location, accessibility, and market conditions; to issue permits of authority for timber cuttings; and to require cash deposits in advance to apply on such timber-cutting permits. In cases in which the appraised value of timber involved in any proposed sale exceeds five thousand dollars, competitive bids shall be received by the board, after call for such bids has been advertised over a thirty-day period in three issues of a newspaper of general circulation in each county in which the timber is located. (2) The board, when contracting with the Colorado state forest service, shall direct the service to use the appropriate methods necessary to ensure proper management of state trust lands whenever the board contracts for the disposition from state lands of timber that: (a) Has been infested with bark beetles; or (b) Is harvested from a forest whose health is otherwise in decline or from which the board anticipates declining revenues due to forest health factors.

C.R.S. § 36-7-104 Rules regulating sale

36-7-104. Rules regulating sale. The board shall issue rules regulating the following: The sale of timber; timber protection of the young growth and the remaining stand in accordance with approved forestry practice; the filing of applications by purchasers; the issuing of permits of authority for cuttings; the cruising and appraisement of timber quantities to be sold; and the expenses to be paid by the timber purchaser.

C.R.S. § 36-7-105 Protection from fire

36-7-105. Protection from fire. The board shall endeavor by every means at its disposal to protect the state's timber lands from fire menace and destructive timber fires. It shall cooperate with the United States forest service and otherwise for such protection when timber fires occur and hire all necessary help, laborers, or firefighters for the extinguishing of such fires. It shall construct within the state forest lands and on its exterior boundary lines locked fire booths containing necessary apparatus for fighting fires and post in conspicuous places within the area and outside on the exterior boundary lines of the state's forest lands, fire warnings and supply all modern fire fighting appliances and equipment necessarily required in approved forestry protection practice.

C.R.S. § 36-7-106 Bond of person cutting trees

36-7-106. Bond of person cutting trees. The state board of land commissioners shall require of all persons cutting trees upon state lands a bond in a sufficient amount, with good and approved security, for the carrying out in good faith of the provisions of part 2 of this article.

C.R.S. § 36-7-107 District attorneys to prosecute

36-7-107. District attorneys to prosecute. The district attorneys of the various judicial districts of the state are directed to prosecute in the name of the state all cases arising under this article.

C.R.S. § 36-7-201 Colorado state forest created - penalty

36-7-201. Colorado state forest created - penalty. (1) There is hereby created the Colorado state forest, to consist of a consolidated area of forest lands to be selected by the state board of land commissioners, through exchange with the United States government. (2) The state board of land commissioners shall be authorized to exchange school, university, penitentiary, internal improvement, agricultural college, or any other state lands, either within or without the United States national forest, for other lands of at least equal area and appraised value, for the purpose of this section. (3) The state forest lands, when so selected, from time to time, by formal resolution of the board, shall be set aside and sale of any parcel or part thereof prohibited. The withdrawal from sale of such lands shall be so designated upon the records and plat books of the board in accordance with this section. (4) The board is authorized with the administration of the state forest lands; the leasing of the same for grazing, agricultural, mineral, and all other purposes to secure the maximum rental and revenue therefrom; to provide for and extend the practice of intensive forestry for its preservation; to sell, cut, and remove timber therefrom in accordance with good forestry practice; and to provide for protection against fire hazard. (5) The board shall prescribe and issue rules and regulations for the administration and leasing of such lands and for the preservation, conservation, cutting, and sale of timber thereon; and for the improvement of such lands, the building of trails, roads, and otherwise, and for the expense thereof. (6) The general assembly shall, from time to time, provide for the necessary expense of the administration and improvement of the state forest lands, by an appropriation for the operation of the board. (7) Any person or corporation who shall trespass, commit depredations, or by negligence be responsible for any fires, or who shall cut or remove any timber from the state forest lands without authority so to do from the board, commits a class 2 misdemeanor.

C.R.S. § 36-7-202 Board to designate state forests

36-7-202. Board to designate state forests. The board is authorized to designate as state forests units of land suitable in character and size for such purposes and to administer such state forests for the sustained yield of forest and range products therefrom. All moneys collected or acquired by the board from fees derived from the lease or rental of surface rights for grazing, commercial, or recreational purposes of state school trust lands located in state forests shall be paid over to the state treasurer to be deposited and transferred as follows: Seventy-five percent to the public school income fund of the state and twenty-five percent to the county public school fund of the county in which the land from which the moneys were derived is located.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-36.docxFetched: 10/6/2026

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