Landowners’ Dreams Realized

Posted on May 8, 2012

Weber Canyon Conservation Easement

Montezuma Land Conservancy (MLC) recently partnered with three landowners to conserve 1,000+ acres of ranch land in Weber Canyon. This project provides a keystone for strategic, landscape scale conservation in the Mancos Valley.

The project includes the full range of conservation values that MLC was founded to protect; the parcels have significant agricultural values including prime soils and almost 6 cubic feet per second of high priority irrigation water out of Weber Creek. The parcels currently produce irrigated hay and provide rangeland for grazing.  Read more...

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MLC Hosts the Wild & Scenic Film Festival

Posted on December 9, 2011

Join Montezuma Land Conservancy for the Wild & Scenic Film Festival “On Tour” at the Dolores Community Center January 27th, 2012 at 6pm.

The Wild & Scenic Film Festival is a collection of films from the annual festival held in Nevada City, CA which is now is now its 9th year! The Wild& Scenic Film Festival was started by the watershed advocacy group, the South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL) in 2003. The festival’s namesake is in celebration of SYRCL’s landmark victory to receive “Wild & Scenic” status for 39 miles of the South Yuba River in 1999. The 3 day event features over 100 award-winning films.  Read more...

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Humiston Farm: Postcard View in the Mancos Valley Protected

Posted on August 3, 2011

Glen Humiston stands on the Humiston family farm on the south side of Mancos. Humiston heirs and the Montezuma Land Conservancy recently worked together to secure a conservation easement on the property.

On May 26th an agriculturally productive farm in the Mancos Valley was protected forever by the Humiston Family, in partnership with Montezuma Land Conservancy.  With its gambrel barn and green fields framed by the peaks of the Southern San Juan Mountains, this scenic property embodies the slogan, “Where the West Still Lives,” which appears on a welcome sign as travelers enter the Mancos Valley.  Read more...

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Free Easement Seminar — Thursday, February 24, 3:00-5:30pm

Posted on February 10, 2011

“Keeping it in the family: How conservation easements can benefit your family and your land”

Please join MLC and two independent financial advisors to learn how conservation easements can help families hang onto their land and realize tax benefits.  The seminar will be held at the Lewis-Arriola Community Center at 21176 County Road S, just west of Hwy 491.

Topics to be covered at the seminar include:  Read more...

  • Protecting our Rural Way of Life
  • Options and Flexibility of Agricultural Conservation Easements
  • Cash From the State Tax Credit for Your Easement
  • Tax issues of Conservation Easements
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Congress extends the enhanced easement incentive!

Posted on January 7, 2011

Congress extends the enhanced easement incentive! This is great news for landowners in Montezuma and Dolores counties — check out the details of H.R. 4853 or contact MLC at 970. 565.1664 for more information.

The incentive, which now applies to donations in 2010 and 2011:

  • Raises the income tax deduction a landowner can take for donating a conservation easement from 30% of their income in any year to 50%;
  • Allows farmers and ranchers to deduct up to 100% of their income; and
  • Increases the number of years over which a donor can take deductions from 6 to 16 years.
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Ivins Ranch Conservation Easement Completed!

Posted on December 2, 2010

Ivins Ranch, Dolores County Colorado

Today, the Ivins Family conveyed a conservation easement on their 6,750 acre ranch in central Dolores County. The completion of this and the Crescent Ranch conservation easement represent more than 11,000 acres of protected land in the Groundhog Glade area!  Read more...

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Crescent Ranch Conservation Easement Closes!

Posted on December 1, 2010

Crescent Ranch, Dolores County Colorado

On Tuesday, Montezuma Land Conservancy completed a two year process to protect the 4,847 acre Crescent Ranch. The property is in two parcels: one in central Dolores County containing high elevation aspen forests and oakbrush woodlands and a second parcel located in western Montezuma County containing natural desert habitat and alluvial basins.“In the landowner’s words, “this project keeps the land all together just like Dad wanted from the beginning.” In the landowner’s words, “this project keeps the land all together just like Dad wanted from the beginning.” The project was made possible by grant funding from Great Outdoors Colorado, the Farm and Ranchland Protection Program and grants from the Packard Foundation and Gates Family Foundation.

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Dolores River Land Protection

Posted on November 18, 2010

One recent easement conserves 147 acres of ranch land, hay fields and pasture. The Property contains senior water rights and soils designated as Farmland of Statewide Importance by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). It is bounded on two sides by the San Juan National Forest and occupies the Dolores River Valley floor, and upland forested slopes and includes ¾ mile of the Dolores River.    The river supports approximately 20 acres of woodland riparian habitat within the property boundaries.   The importance of riparian areas for southwestern migrating and nesting birds is well documented; they support a higher diversity of birds than all other western habitats combined.   In addition to conserving agricultural lands and protecting important wildlife habitat the easement protects scenic views. The property is bisected by the San Juan Skyway Scenic Byway, an All-American Road as designated by the National Scenic Byways Program of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration.  More than 75% of the Property is visible from this roadway.

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RSL Ranch 2010 Conservation Easement Closes

Posted on November 18, 2010

Rick and Helen Lee on their property on Haycamp Mesa

The new RSL Ranch conservation easement embodies the rich qualities of the landscape in our area. It includes irrigated farmland, grazing land for cattle, and ponderosa forest for timber production. At the same time it includes important forest habitat for wildlife along with riparian habitat along Lost Canyon Creek and scenic views from an access road to the San Juan National Forest. Rick and Helen Lee, representing the current generation of the ownership RSL Ranch have partnered with Montezuma Land Conservancy, Great Outdoors Colorado and the Farm and Ranch Protection Program to conserve the core of this historic family ranch.  The ranch has been in the family since 1874 and a portion of the property is registered as a Centennial farm.  Rick Lee talked about how this family history led him to consider a conservation easement,  Read more...

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MLC Celebrates the 2010 Holiday Season

Posted on November 16, 2010
MLC Staff at Christmas time

MLC Staff from left to right: Juniper, Amber, Dave, Robyne, Nina, and resident pets Sid and Happy

As the 2010 Holiday season approaches, the MLC staff look forward to celebrating a year of achievements!

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Lawmakers OK Conservation Easement Review

Posted on November 10, 2010

To hear the latest on the ongoing dispute between some conservation easement donors and the state, check out this article from the Durango Herald.

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