What is the deadline to oppose this water court application?

The last day of June 2026 is the filing deadline to submit a verified statement of opposition.

Who filed this application and who represents them?

The Colorado State Board of Land Commissioners filed the application, represented by Assistant Attorneys General Ema I. G. Schultz and Christian Aggeler.

Which wells are being made absolute?

Portions of Appelt Well No. 20 alternate points (20-1, 20-2, 20-3) have claimed dates of beneficial use and are asserted to be made partially absolute.

What happens to the Quarter Corner Well?

The Land Board intends to relinquish the Quarter Corner Well (0.01 cfs), meaning it will no longer pursue that conditional water right.

Where can I view the full application and exhibits?

Exhibits and the full application are available at the Water Division No. 2 Clerk's office or at www.coloradojudicial.gov.

May 19, 2026 Court Notice: 501 N. Elizabeth Street, Suite 116, Pueblo, CO

DISTRICT COURT, WATER DIVISION NO. 2, COLORADO TO: ALL INTERESTED PARTIES Pursuant to C.R.S. 37-92-302, you are hereby notified that the following case is a portion of the resume of applications and amendments filed and/or ordered published during the month of April 2026, in Water Division No. 2. The Water Judge ordered this case be published in The Pueblo Chieftain in Pueblo County, Colorado. This publication can be viewed in its entirety on the state court website at: www.coloradojudicial.gov. The name(s) and address(es) of applicant(s), description of water rights or conditional water rights and description of ruling sought as reflected by said application, or amendment, are as follows. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CASE NO. 2026CW3019; Previous Case Nos. 19CW3067, 13CW3013, 02CW108, 95CW238, 88CW48, 84CW58, 80CW47, W-4405, CA B-53483/W-42 – THE STATE OF COLORADO, acting by and through THE COLORADO STATE BOARD OF LAND COMMISSIONERS, ATTN: JUSTIN BIERI, 1127 Sherman Street, Suite 300, Denver, CO 80203(Please address all pleadings and inquiries regarding this matter to Applicant's attorneys: Ema I. G. Schultz, Second Assistant Attorney General, Christian Aggeler, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Colorado Department of Law, 1300 Broadway, 10th Floor Denver, CO 80203, Ema.schultz@coag.gov, 720-508-6307, christian.aggeler@coag.gov, 720-508-6303) Application For Findings Of Reasonable Diligence, To Make Partially Absolute, And Notice Of Relinquishment EL PASO AND PUEBLO COUNTIES, COLORADO 2. Conditional Water Right Information: A. Description of Structures: The structures identified below are collectively referred to as the “Ranch Well Water Rights” and are shown on Exhibit A map attached to the application. (All exhibits mentioned herein are incorporated by reference and may be inspected at the office of the clerk of this Court.) i. Structure Name: Appelt Well No. 6. (1) Legal Description: 50' E, 2500' S of NW corner of Sec. 22, T17S, R63W, 6th P.M., El Paso County, Colorado. (2) Appropriation Date: September 21, 1964. (3) Amount: 0.02 cfs Absolute (abandoned in Case No. 21CW3078); 3.98 cfs Conditional. ii. Structure Name: Appelt Well No. 7. (1) Legal Description: 3000' E, 2500' S of NW corner of Sec. 22, T17S, R63W, 6th P.M., El Paso County, Colorado. (2) Appropriation Date: September 21, 1964. (3) Amount: 4.0 cfs Conditional. iii. Structure Name: Appelt Well No. 8. (1) Legal Description: 5200' E, 2500' S of NW corner of Sec. 22, T17S, R63W, 6th P.M., El Paso County, Colorado. (2) Appropriation Date: September 21, 1964. (3) Amount: 4.0 cfs Conditional. iv. Structure Name: Appelt Well No. 9. (1) Legal Description: 2800' E, 2500' S of NW corner of Sec. 23, T17S, R63W, 6th P.M., El Paso County, Colorado. (2) Appropriation Date: September 21, 1964. (3) Amount: 0.02 cfs Absolute (abandoned in Case No. 21CW3078); 3.98 cfs Conditional. v. Structure Name: Appelt Well No. 10. (1) Legal Description: 3000' E, 50' S of NW corner of Sec. 19, T17S, R62W, 6th P.M., El Paso County, Colorado. (2) Appropriation Date: September 21, 1964. (3) Amount: 4.0 cfs Conditional. vi. Structure Name: Appelt Well No. 11. (1) Legal Description: 50' E, 50' S of NW corner of Sec. 20, T17S, R62W, 6th P.M., El Paso County, Colorado. (2) Appropriation Date: September 21, 1964. (3) Amount: 4.0 cfs Conditional. vii. Structure Name: Appelt Well No. 12. (1) Legal Description: 2800' E, 50' S of NW corner of Sec. 20, T17S, R62W, 6th P.M., El Paso County, Colorado. (2) Appropriation Date: September 21, 1964. (3) Amount: 4.0 cfs Conditional. viii. Structure Name: Appelt Well No. 13. (1) Legal Description: 5200' E, 50' S of NW corner of Sec. 20, T17S, R62W, 6th P.M., El Paso County, Colorado. (2) Appropriation Date: September 21, 1964. (3) Amount: 4.0 cfs Conditional. ix. Structure Name: Appelt Well No. 14. (1) Legal Description: 2500' E, 5200' S of NW corner of Sec. 24, T17S, R63W, 6th P.M., El Paso County, Colorado. (2) Appropriation Date: September 21, 1964. (3) Amount: 0.02 cfs Absolute (abandoned in Case No. 21CW3078); 3.98 cfs Conditional. x. Structure Name: Appelt Well No. 15. (1) Legal Description: 50' E, 5200' S of NW corner of Sec. 30, T17S, R62W, 6th P.M., El Paso County, Colorado.(2) Appropriation Date: August 30, 1966. (3) Amount: 4.0 cfs Conditional. xi. Structure Name: Appelt Well No. 16. (1) Legal Description: 3000' E, 5200' S of the NW corner of Sec. 30, T17S, R62W, 6th P.M., El Paso County, Colorado. (2) Appropriation Date: September 21, 1964. (3) Amount: 4.0 cfs Conditional. xii. Structure Name: Appelt Well No. 17. (1) Legal Description: 5200' E, 5200' S of NW corner of Sec. 30, T17S, R62W, 6th P.M., El Paso County, Colorado. (2) Appropriation Date: September 21, 1964. (3) Amount: 4.0 cfs Conditional. xiii. Structure Name: Appelt Well No. 18. (1) Legal Description: 1400' E, 5200' S of NW corner of Sec. 29, T17S, R62W, 6th P.M., El Paso County, Colorado. (2) Appropriation Date: April 21, 1967. (3) Amount: 2.45 cfs Absolute; 1.65 cfs Conditional. xiv. Structure Name: Appelt Well No. 19. (1) Legal Description: 3900' E, 1500' S of NW corner of Sec. 29, T17S, R62W, 6th P.M., El Paso County, Colorado. (2) Appropriation Date: September 21, 1964. (3) Amount: 1.55 cfs Absolute; 2.45 cfs Conditional. xv. Structure Name: Appelt Well No. 20 (and alternate points of diversion decreed in Case No. W-4329). (1) Legal Description: 2500' E, 3000' S of NW corner of Sec. 3, T18S, R63W, 6th P.M., Pueblo County, Colorado. (a) Alternate Point - Appelt Well No. 20-1: SW 1/4, SW 1/4 Sec. 3, T18S, R63W, 6th P.M., Pueblo County, Colorado, 1200' N and 650' E of the SW corner of Sec. 3. (b) Alternate Point - Appelt Well No. 20-2: NE 1/4, SE 1/4 Sec. 4, T18S, R63W, 6th P.M., Pueblo County, Colorado, 1700' N and 900' W of the SE corner of Sec. 4. (c) Alternate Point - Appelt Well No. 20-3: SW 1/4 NW 1/4 Sec. 10, T18S, R63W, 6th P.M., Pueblo County, Colorado, 2380' S, 500' E of NW corner of Sec. 10. (d) Alternate Point - Appelt Well No. 20-4: NE 1/4 SW 1/4 Sec. 10, T18S, R63W, 6th P.M., Pueblo County, Colorado 2400' N and 2200' E of the SW corner of Sec. 10. (2) Appropriation Date: September 21, 1964. (3) Amount: 0.02 cfs Absolute (abandoned in Case No. 01CW157); 3.98 cfs Absolute. (a) Appelt Well 20-1: 0.02 cfs Absolute (abandoned in Case No. 01CW157); 1.58 cfs Conditional. (b) Appelt Well 20-2: 1.1 cfs Conditional. (c) Appelt Well 20-3: 0.7 cfs Conditional. (d) Appelt Well 20-4: 0.6 cfs Conditional. (e) The conditional amounts for the alternate point wells were assigned from the amount decreed for Appelt Well No. 20 in Case No. W-4329. xvi. Structure Name: Appelt Well No. 21. (1) Legal Description: 1000' E, 3000' S of NW corner of Sec. 29, T18S, R62W, 6th P.M., Pueblo County, Colorado. (2) Appropriation Date: September 21, 1964. (3) Amount: 0.9 cfs Absolute; 3.1 cfs Conditional. xvii. Structure Name: Appelt Well No. 22. (1) Legal Description: 5200' E, 3000' S of NW corner of Sec. 29, T18S, R62W, 6th P.M., Pueblo County, Colorado. (2) Appropriation Date: September 21, 1964. (3) Amount: 4.0 cfs Conditional. xviii. Structure Name: Appelt Well No. 23. (1) Legal Description: 3000' E, 3000' S of NW corner of Sec. 28, T18S, R62W, 6th P.M., Pueblo County, Colorado. (2) Appropriation Date: September 21, 1964. (3) Amount: 4.0 cfs Conditional. xix. Structure Name: Quarter Corner Well. (1) Legal Description: 2640' S of the NW corner of Sec. 18, T18S, R61W, 6th P.M., Pueblo County, Colorado. (2) Appropriation Date: September 21, 1964. (3) Amount: .01 cfs Conditional. xx. Structure Name: Camp Well. (1) Legal Description: 5000' S, 150' E of NW corner of Sec. 4, T18S, R62W, 6th P.M., Pueblo County, Colorado. (2) Appropriation Date: December 31, 1920. (3) Amount: 0.13 cfs Absolute (abandoned in Case No. 01CW157); 0.04 cfs Conditional. xxi. Structure Name: Holmes Well. (1) Legal Description: 4000' S, 4250' E of NW corner of Sec. 22, T17S, R63W, 6th P.M., El Paso County, Colorado. (2) Appropriation Date: December 31, 1942. (3) Amount: 0.02 cfs Absolute (abandoned in Case No. 21CW3078); 2.00 cfs Conditional. B. Prior Decrees. i. Date of original Decree and case number: April 28, 1972; Civil Action No. B-53483, Pueblo District Court (Consolidated with Case No. W-42, Water Division 2). ii. Subsequent decrees awarding finding of diligence: June 17, 1977, Case No. W-4405; October 6, 1980, nunc pro tunc September 4, 1980, Case No. 80CW47; January 25, 1985, Case No. 84CW58; December 20, 1989, Case No. 88CW48; July 23, 1996, Case No. 95CW238; May 16, 2007, Case No. 02CW108; November 1, 2013, Case No. 13CW3013; April 14, 2020, Case No. 19CW3067. C. Source for all rights: Black Squirrel Creek. D. Use for all Ranch Well Water Rights: Irrigation, domestic, and mechanical. E. Integrated Water Supply: The Ranch Well Water Rights which are the subject of this diligence action are part of an integrated water supply system designed to provide a sufficient and reliable water supply at the Ranch, as previously decreed by this Court. 3. Claim to Make Absolute. A. Appelt Well No. 20-1, more fully described in paragraph 2.A.xv. i. Date Water Applied to Beneficial Use: June 1, 2020. ii. Amount: 0.668 cfs. iii. Uses: Irrigation. B. Appelt Well No. 20-2, more fully described in paragraph 2.A.xv. i. Date Water Applied to Beneficial Use: April 30, 2022. ii. Amount: 0.058 cfs. iii. Uses: Irrigation. C. Appelt Well No. 20-3, more fully described in paragraph 2.A.xv. i. Date Water Applied to Beneficial Use: June 15, 2022. ii. Amount: 0.58 cfs. iii. Uses: Irrigation. D. Comments: The wells in this section have been augmented by the Arkansas Groundwater & Reservoir Association (“AGRA”). The flow rates claimed are based on pump and meter tests completed for the wells. The dates that each well were applied to beneficial use are estimates based on diversion records for each well. 4. Notice of Relinquishment. A. During the diligence period, the Land Board determined that the cost of constructing and completing development of the following water right originally decreed in Civil Action B-53483 is not feasible. The Land Board has decided not to pursue continuation of the following water right and hereby notifies the court of the Land Board's intent to relinquish the conditional water right. B. Quarter Corner Well. i. Amount: 0.01 cfs. ii. Uses: Irrigation, domestic, and mechanical. 5. Provide a detailed outline of what has been done toward completion of the appropriation and application of water to a beneficial use as conditionally decreed, including expenditures: The following list is not intended to be exclusive and may be supplemented by additional evidence. A. The Land Board manages public trust land throughout Colorado for the purpose of producing revenue for the State's public schools. These lands are commonly known as “school lands” or “school trust lands”. The Land Board owns and manages the Chico Basin Ranch (the “Ranch”) in El Paso and Pueblo Counties. The Ranch is a 90,000-acre family-run, working cattle ranch 30 miles southeast of Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Ranch is school trust land. The Ranch includes ranges of shortgrass and sand sage prairie which provides habitat for diverse populations of birds, pronghorn, antelope, mule deer, fish, prairie dogs, coyote, badgers, and other wildlife. B. The Land Board's duty is to generate revenue from the Ranch and all of its properties for the benefit of public K-12 schools. To accomplish this mission, the Land Board engages lessees. At present, the Land Board has at least eight (8) lessees engaged for various purposes on the Ranch. The Land Board selects its lessees through a competitive bidding process. C. In 2024, the Land Board solicited proposals from entities interested in the largest agricultural lease of the Ranch. The Land Board, through a contested process, selected Flying Diamond Ranch, LLC to receive a ten (10) year agricultural lease. The lease includes seventeen (17) of the twenty-five (25) Ranch Well Water Rights. The remaining eight (8) wells are located on two other tracts within the Ranch held by two different lessees for agricultural and industrial use. D. During the diligence period, the Land Board and its lessee(s) have maintained and paid assessments for an augmentation contract with the Arkansas Groundwater & Reservoir Association (“AGRA”). The contract with AGRA secures the ability for five (5) of the Ranch Well Water Rights to operate out-of-priority by supplying augmentation water. AGRA fees cost the Land Board and its lessee(s) approximately $25,000 per year. During the diligence period, the Land Board has also had discussions with AGRA about expanding its augmentation service for the Ranch Well Water Rights. E. During the diligence period, the Land Board and its lessee(s) expended funds toward the completion of the Ranch Well Water Rights. The Land Board and its lessee(s) have maintained the constructed system of wells and springs to continue use and operation of the integrated water supply on the ranch. F. During the diligence period, the Land Board has conducted diligence activities in the development of these conditional water rights, and has expended funds for staff, legal, and operations in support of those activities including: hiring a full time water manager to oversee the Land Board's water assets, including those identified in this application; reviewing water court resumes for applications potentially affecting water rights identified in this application; and routinely monitoring the leases and communicating with the lessees regarding operations on the Land Board's property. These activities have taken place over the normal course of business for the Land Board and therefore do not give rise to specific expenditures that can be identified. G. During the diligence period, the Land Board or its lessee(s) have ensured that those wells which are constructed of the Ranch Well Water Rights have been in compliance with the applicable well measurement rules. The flow meters have been properly tested and reported. The wells which exist but are not in use have been properly inactivated in accordance with the applicable rules. The Land Board or its lessee(s) replaced the pump for at least one of the operating wells during the diligence period. H. Due to the change in the main agricultural lessee during this diligence period, the Land Board does not have access to information regarding the amount that its lessee expended in support of maintaining and developing the integrated water supply system on the Ranch, including the Ranch Well Water Rights. The Land Board also does not have detailed information regarding exactly what activities have been conducted to maintain the existing wells, replace failing infrastructure, or otherwise develop the Ranch Well Water Rights that were included in the prior lease. I. During the diligence period, the Land Board's water program manager met with the Division Engineer and Water Commissioner on multiple occasions regarding the water use and plans for the Ranch as well as the future needs of the Ranch. These conversations included the development of the Ranch Well Water Rights as well as the absolute water rights on the Ranch. J. During the diligence period, the Land Board actively sought additional augmentation sources that could be used to augment the Ranch Well Water Rights and facilitate their development. The Land Board made at least one valid offer for such water rights and was outbid in the transaction. The Land Board's water program manager is actively pursuing other options to acquire augmentation water that will be used in whole or in part to augment the Ranch Well Water Rights. K. The Land Board has performed monthly reviews of the water court resume to determine whether to file statements of opposition to protect its water rights in Water Division 2, including the Ranch Well Water Rights. Land Board staff has also met internally to plan future development of the Ranch Well Water Rights in conjunction with continued leasing of the parcels the water rights serve. 6. Name and address of owners of the land on which structures are or will be located, upon which water is or will be stored, or upon which water is or will be placed to beneficial use: All structures listed above are located on land owned by the Applicant. WHEREFORE, the Land Board prays that this Court enter a decree finding that the Land Board has exercised reasonable diligence in the development of the conditional water rights and to continue the rights in full force and effect, that the Land Board has made certain of the Ranch Well Water Rights absolute, take notice that the Land Board has relinquished its conditional water right for the Quarter Corner Well, and for such other and further relief as this Court deems necessary. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE WATER RIGHTS CLAIMED BY THE FOREGOING APPLICATION(S) MAY AFFECT IN PRIORITY ANY WATER RIGHTS CLAIMED OR HERETOFORE ADJUDICATED WITHIN THIS DIVISION AND OWNERS OF AFFECTED RIGHTS MUST APPEAR TO OBJECT AND PROTEST WITHIN THE TIME PROVIDED BY STATUTE, OR BE FOREVER BARRED. YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that any party who wishes to oppose an application, or application as amended, may file with the Water Clerk a verified statement of opposition setting forth facts as to why the application should not be granted, or why it should be granted only in part or on certain conditions, such statement of opposition must be filed by the last day of June 2026, (forms available at Clerk's office or at www.coloradojudicial.gov, must be served on parties and certificate of service must be completed; filing fee $192.00). The foregoing are resumes and the entire application, amendments, exhibits, maps and any other attachments filed in each case may be examined in the office of the Clerk for Water Division No. 2, at the address shown below. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Witness my hand and the seal of this Court this 13th day of May 2026. /s/ Michele M. Santistevan ________________________________ Michele M. Santistevan, Clerk District Court Water Div. 2 501 N. Elizabeth Street, Suite 116 Pueblo, CO 81003 (719) 404-8832 (Court seal) Published: 5/19/2026

Court Notice — 501 N. Elizabeth Street, Suite 116, Pueblo, CO (2026CW3019)

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