New Mexico Land Conservancy invites public to land donated by conservationist
Sep. 4—The presence of horsewoman and conservationist Jane Petchesky can still be felt at her Santa Fe ranch.
The home she and her husband, Gene, occupied for decades has been converted into office spaces for the New Mexico Land Conservancy. Petchesky donated the property in 2009, but traces of the couple remain, from pottery they collected to a painting of Petchesky on the wall.
"She very generously left this property to us to serve as our office, with the intent being that this would one day become kind of a community hub for conservation, environmental education, land stewardship and even public recreation," said executive director Jonathan Hayden.
Fifteen years later, the conservancy wants to fulfill one of Petchesky's wishes for the property — that it become a gathering place for the public.
A leadership transition and the COVID-19 pandemic put some of those plans on hold, Hayden said. Hayden has been at the helm since January, previously working at Western Resource Advocates and the Santa Fe National Forest.
On Thursday, the organization is hosting an open house and evening hike to take advantage of sunset views of the Sandia, Ortiz and Jemez mountains. The event will also launch a speaker series on conservation-related topics. Part of the goal is to identify stakeholders who might be interested in the future of the 262 acres.
"Conservation, in general, is dependent on collaboration," Hayden said. "... We have the potential to elevate the south side. It's been seen historically as a neglected area, but there's so much latent potential."
Data from a national nonprofit which surveys tree coverage found the north and east sides of the city had more tree cover than the south side. Although development abuts the property, Petchesky protected the land through a 2004 easement — one of many the conservancy has worked on throughout the state. Since its inception in 2002, the conservancy has worked with landowners to conserve 700,000 acres statewide.
Travis Clarke, development and outreach manager for the New Mexico Land Conservancy, said he uses the trail system at the ranch several times a week.
"Especially this summer, just watching the color of the landscape change — it's such a beautiful, kind of poetic thing to experience," Clarke said.
The ecosystem is interesting, Hayden said, a shortgrass prairie that was once plentiful in New Mexico but is becoming "rarer and rarer." Fluffy juniper lines the trails; a young piñon pine, standing about hip height, already has pine cones growing on the branches. The seed-carrying pine cones are covered with green scales, dripping with what looks like icicles.
Coyotes, bobcats and red racer snakes have all stopped by the property, Hayden said.
"All sorts of species that are native to this area, but which are kind of being extirpated from surrounding land because of development," Hayden said. "Santa Fe has an acute affordable housing problem, there's a need for more housing and development, but there's also a big need to connect those people ... to nature, to wildlife, to really instill a sense of place."
That could include additional recreation activities, expansion of public access to the trail system and new educational opportunities. What that looks like hasn't quite been decided, Hayden said — but that's a question for the open house.
"Being a community hub for conservation, that rests on three pillars: the environmental education, the wildlife habitat stewardship and then providing public recreation opportunities in an area that really is underserved," Hayden said.
