Mesa County will receive more than $3.6 million in the latest payment in lieu of taxes on federal lands in the county.

The payment is the single largest to a Colorado county out of nearly $40 million in so-called PILT payments in the state for 2019. Nationwide, the Department of the Interior will distribute $514 million under the program.

“These payments are one example of the United States striving to be a good neighbor to local communities,” said Interior Secretary David Bernhardt. “This year’s distribution of $514 million to more than 1,900 counties will help small towns pay for critical needs like emergency response, public safety, public schools, housing, social services and infrastructure.”

The PILT program compensates local government entities for revenues from nontaxable federal lands, including those administered by the Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service and National Park Service. Payments are based on the acreage of federal land and population within a county. Since the program began in 1977, the Department of the Interior has distributed about $9.2 billion.

Funding for the payments comes from the nearly $12 billion in annual revenue the Department of the Interior collects from commercial activities on federal lands, including energy development, livestock grazing and timber harvests.

The 2019 payment to Mesa County roughly equals the 2018 payment based on the more than 1.5 million acres of federal lands in the county.

The combined acreage of federal lands in Mesa County is third in Colorado behind only Moffat County with nearly 1.7 million acres and Gunnison County with more than 1.6 million acres.

The PILT payment is higher for Mesa County than other counties, though, because of its larger population. Moffat County will receive a payment of more than $1.1 million. Gunnison County will receive nearly $634,000.

With nearly 1.2 million acres of federal lands, Garfield County will receive the second largest PILT payment in Colorado of more than $3.2 million.

Montrose County will receive nearly $2.7 million in payment in lieu of taxes on nearly 1 million acres of federal land.

Despite having almost 1.5 million acres of federal lands, the less populated Rio Blanco County will receive more than $584,000. Delta County will receive nearly $898,000 for more than 400,000 acres.