United States Department of Agriculture
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Colorado Highlights

National Resources Iventory (NRI) Logo: abstract drawing of farm field with background of mountains and a city skyscape in the background

Significant 1997 Findings
Comparisons are made to 1982, the base year for the Natural Resources Inventory/NRI

Land Use

In 1997 the total Colorado land base of 66,624,500 acres included 42,480,200 acres of non-Federal rural land and 350,500 acres of water.

Colorado has a total of 23,793,800 acres of Federal land. This is approximately 36 percent of the total Colorado land base. 

The biggest land use change in Colorado between 1982 and 1997 was the conversion of cropland, rangeland, and forestland to urban land. Urban land increased by 427,700 acres, or 25 percent.

The 427,700 acre increase in urban land came mainly from the conversion of approximately 160,300 acres of range land, 121,900 acres of cropland, 64,700 acres of forest land and 45,800 acres of pasture land.

Wind Erosion

Colorado average erosion rates on cropland declined for 1997 compared to 1982. Rates of wind erosion on cropland declined from 10.6 tons of soil per acre per year in 1982 to 7.0 tons in 1997.

Conservation Reserve Program/CRP

Colorado has approximately 1,890,000 acres in the CRP. The majority of those acres are in the eastern third of the state, with the remaining acres located in the northwestern and southwestern corners of the state.

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