{"id":30250,"date":"2026-09-29T11:54:27","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T11:54:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=30250"},"modified":"2026-09-29T11:54:27","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T11:54:27","slug":"a-colorado-rancher-spent-50000-fighting-oil-infrastructure-he-did-not-want-on-his-7000-acre-ranch-after-nearly-a-decade-officials-approved-a-wind-project-that-lets-his-family-finally-earn-from-en","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=30250","title":{"rendered":"A Colorado rancher spent $50,000 fighting oil infrastructure he did not want on his 7,000-acre ranch; after nearly a decade, officials approved a wind project that lets his family finally earn from energy on its own land"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-134559222,imgsize-139498,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/salo-said-wind-income-could-help-his-own-daughters-continue-the-family-ranch.jpg\" alt=\"A Colorado rancher spent $50,000 fighting oil infrastructure he did not want on his 7,000-acre ranch; after nearly a decade, officials approved a wind project that lets his family finally earn from energy on its own land\" title=\"Salo said wind income could help his own daughters continue the family ranch\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"Salo said wind income could help his own daughters continue the family ranch\">Salo said wind income could help his own daughters continue the family ranch<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>A Colorado rancher who spent $50,000 fighting oil infrastructure on his 7,000-acre property has won approval for a wind project on the same land. Weld County commissioners voted 3-2 on Wednesday to approve the project, nearly a decade after oil development began affecting his ranch.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"2\"\/>According to Cowboy State Daily, Scott Salo bought the ranch in northern Weld County in 2014 after running a farm and feedlot in Torrington, Wyoming, with his wife for almost 15 years. The family moved to Colorado to ranch and rebuilt the property, including facilities for their cattle.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"4\"\/>In 2017, an oil company approached Salo about placing drilling infrastructure on his property. The company wanted to reach oil and gas reserves beneath neighbouring properties through horizontal drilling. <!-- -->Those properties had conservation easements limiting surface disturbance, so the well pads had to be placed on Salo&#8217;s land.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"9\"\/>Salo opposed the drilling, but the minerals beneath his property had already been sold by the previous owner. This created a split estate, meaning Salo owned the surface but not the minerals below it. A two-year legal fight followed and cost him $50,000.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"11\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Years of oil development<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"13\"\/>Salo said oil company lawyers pressured him to sign an agreement allowing the infrastructure and offered little compensation for the disruption.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"16\"\/>\u201cThey threatened and threatened and threatened,\u201d Salo said. \u201cWe were just fortunate enough to have a super powerful attorney that I guess struck some level of fear into them. But when you don&#8217;t own the minerals beneath you, you only have so much leverage.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"18\"\/>His lawyer eventually negotiated an agreement allowing the drilling pads to remain. Salo said the payments he receives are small compared with the royalties collected by mineral owners and neighbours.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"21\"\/>\u201cThe rules are all girded in favor of oil and gas,\u201d Salo said. \u201cI&#8217;m not against oil and gas. But this about destroyed me as a person, because you feel really helpless.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"23\"\/>More than 350 acres of his ranch are now mapped for roads, well pads and compressor stations, according to Salo. He said pump jacks and tank batteries are visible from his home and there is traffic on the property throughout the day.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"25\"\/>\u201cEvery day, 24\/7, there&#8217;s traffic on and off our ranch,\u201d he said. <!-- -->\u201cWhen you didn&#8217;t want them there in the first place, it\u2019s an unpleasant experience. Let&#8217;s put it that way.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"29\"\/>That experience influenced how Salo viewed another energy project when a wind developer approached him in 2023.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"31\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Wind project brings new opportunity<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"33\"\/>Chalk Bluffs Wind LLC, a subsidiary of Utah-based Enyo Power Partners, approached Salo about leasing part of his ranch for its Chalk Bluffs Energy Project.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"35\"\/>The planned development covers roughly 25,000 acres and includes 79 wind turbines in Weld County and about a dozen more in Laramie County, Wyoming. <!-- -->At full build, it could include up to 380 megawatts of wind power, 425 megawatts of solar power and 500 megawatts of battery storage.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"39\"\/><\/p>\n<div data-pos=\"0\" class=\"id-r-component iIpbx undefined  &#10;        \">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The part of the Salo ranch where wind turbines are planned\" msid=\"134559241\" imgsize=\"191562\" resizemode=\"4\" width=\"\" title=\"The part of the Salo ranch where wind turbines are planned\" placeholdersrc=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/83033472.cms\" offsetvertical=\"0\" placeholdermsid=\"47529300\" type=\"thumb\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/imgsize-191562,msid-134559241\/the-part-of-the-salo-ranch-where-wind-turbines-are-planned.jpg\" data-api-prerender=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The part of the Salo ranch where wind turbines are planned<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"41\"\/>Salo agreed to lease about 18 acres. However, opposition soon emerged through a campaign called Save the Chalk Bluffs. Opponents raised concerns about pronghorn migration, raptors, bats, views and the area&#8217;s agricultural character.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"43\"\/>The developer said the project was designed to avoid state and federal raptor nest buffers and would leave a wildlife corridor more than two miles wide. <!-- -->Colorado Parks and Wildlife recommended moving four turbines farther from the escarpment.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"47\"\/>Nearby landowners also objected, saying the project could fragment habitat for raptors, elk, mule deer and pronghorn, while affecting views and grazing land.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"49\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Rancher says wind can support his daughters<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"51\"\/>Salo said oil and gas development had already changed his land while allowing neighbouring ranchers to benefit financially from their mineral rights.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"53\"\/>\u201cHow is it ok for them to extract the energy they&#8217;re getting paid for and disturb the surface on us, but it&#8217;s not ok for us to sell wind?\u201d Salo asked. <!-- -->\u201cMy neighbors have been able to bring their kids home through oil and gas royalties.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"57\"\/>He said wind income could help his own daughters continue the family ranch. \u201cTwo of our three girls, they have straight A\u2019s but they don&#8217;t want to go to college,\u201d Salo said. \u201cThey want to do what we&#8217;re doing. We\u2019re trying to think about the next generation and the generation beyond that.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"59\"\/>He said the lease income could help him buy more land and cattle so his daughters can return to the ranch without taking on decades of debt.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"62\"\/>\u201cThat&#8217;s why we&#8217;re losing so many agricultural young people,\u201d Salo said. \u201cThe kids want to come back, but there&#8217;s just there&#8217;s nothing there for them.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"64\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Commissioners split over approval<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>Nearly 50 people testified during a nine-hour county hearing, with most urging commissioners to reject the project.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"68\"\/>Commissioner Jason Maxey voted against approval. He said the application met many requirements but questioned whether the project fitted the surrounding area and the county&#8217;s plan to preserve agricultural land.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"71\"\/>\u201cIt was a great application,\u201d Maxey said. \u201cThey checked all the boxes, but it is still incumbent on us as commissioners to ensure that the application and the proposed use actually fits into our code and works with the surrounding area.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"73\"\/>Commissioner Kevin Ross voted for the project. He said the developer had made voluntary commitments to reduce its effects on neighbouring properties.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"76\"\/>\u201cThey had done more stuff that was voluntary and not even required in our code than I had ever seen in any submission before,\u201d Ross said. <!-- -->\u201cTherefore I thought it was compatible with the area and a great project.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"80\"\/>The 3-2 approval clears the biggest local hurdle, but construction cannot begin yet. Enyo still needs to complete engineering work, utility agreements and other approvals.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"82\"\/>Salo expects construction could be one or two years away. He plans to continue raising cattle around the turbines and hopes the wind income will help keep his daughters connected to the family ranch.<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/world\/us\/a-colorado-rancher-spent-50000-fighting-oil-infrastructure-he-did-not-want-on-his-7000-acre-ranch-after-nearly-a-decade-officials-approved-a-wind-project-that-lets-his-family-finally-earn-from-energy-on-its-own-land\/articleshow\/134559004.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Salo said wind income could help his own daughters continue the family ranch A Colorado rancher who spent $50,000 fighting oil infrastructure on his 7,000-acre property has won approval for a wind project on the same land. Weld County commissioners voted 3-2 on Wednesday to approve the project, nearly a decade after oil development began [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30251,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/salo-said-wind-income-could-help-his-own-daughters-continue-the-family-ranch.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/salo-said-wind-income-could-help-his-own-daughters-continue-the-family-ranch.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/salo-said-wind-income-could-help-his-own-daughters-continue-the-family-ranch.jpg","large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/salo-said-wind-income-could-help-his-own-daughters-continue-the-family-ranch.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/salo-said-wind-income-could-help-his-own-daughters-continue-the-family-ranch.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/salo-said-wind-income-could-help-his-own-daughters-continue-the-family-ranch.jpg","blogsy-small":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/salo-said-wind-income-could-help-his-own-daughters-continue-the-family-ranch.jpg","blogsy-small-tall":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/salo-said-wind-income-could-help-his-own-daughters-continue-the-family-ranch.jpg","blogsy-small-square":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/salo-said-wind-income-could-help-his-own-daughters-continue-the-family-ranch.jpg","blogsy-small-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/salo-said-wind-income-could-help-his-own-daughters-continue-the-family-ranch.jpg","blogsy-medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/salo-said-wind-income-could-help-his-own-daughters-continue-the-family-ranch.jpg","blogsy-medium-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/salo-said-wind-income-could-help-his-own-daughters-continue-the-family-ranch.jpg","blogsy-large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/salo-said-wind-income-could-help-his-own-daughters-continue-the-family-ranch.jpg","blogsy-wide":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/salo-said-wind-income-could-help-his-own-daughters-continue-the-family-ranch.jpg"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"Salo said wind income could help his own daughters continue the family ranch A Colorado rancher who spent $50,000 fighting oil infrastructure on his 7,000-acre property has won approval for a wind project on the same land. Weld County commissioners voted 3-2 on Wednesday to approve the project, nearly a decade after oil development began [&hellip;]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":1,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":5,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/salo-said-wind-income-could-help-his-own-daughters-continue-the-family-ranch.jpg",400,225,false],"medium":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/salo-said-wind-income-could-help-his-own-daughters-continue-the-family-ranch.jpg",300,169,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/salo-said-wind-income-could-help-his-own-daughters-continue-the-family-ranch.jpg",150,84,false]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/author\/admin"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"<a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link category-link-31\">\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30250"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30250\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}