New Mexico is investing $930,000 to permanently protect 6,000 acres at Ghost Ranch, the landscape that inspired Georgia O’Keeffe’s most iconic paintings. It’s the largest single project funded through the Natural Heritage Conservation Act (NHCA) since the program was revived by the Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund.
The conservation plan preserves the area’s beauty for generations while blocking development. Conservation easements protect the land while letting the Presbyterian Church Foundation retain ownership.
The state, New Mexico Land Conservancy (NMLC), Presbyterian Church Foundation and National Ghost Ranch Foundation announced the partnership Dec. 8. The property sits 65 miles northwest of Santa Fe. The easements prevent subdivision and commercial development while allowing grazing and recreation as development pressure grows along Abiquiú Reservoir.
“We’re excited to leave a lasting legacy for future generations to enjoy the stunning landscapes and vistas that drew Georgia O’Keeffe to Northern New Mexico and continue to define this region’s incomparable beauty,” said Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in a press release.
What Land is Being Protected?
The easements will roll out in two phases, excluding the 550-acre core with Ghost Ranch’s visitor center, museums and lodging facilities.
“This is definitely a marquee project for the Natural Heritage Conservation Act and for the Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund generally,” said Jonathan Hayden, executive director of the New Mexico Land Conservancy.
Phase 1 protects 4,225 acres of grasslands including reservoir frontage and views of Cerro Pedernal, known in Tewa as Tsip’in — the flat-topped peak in many O’Keeffe paintings. The phase focuses on areas under the most development pressure and will be managed as a single easement.
The NMLC will hold the easement in trust. The acreage may shift after surveying. The organization expects to close by late 2026.
The state’s $930,000 will compensate Ghost Ranch for development rights and cover transaction costs including surveys, baseline documentation, title insurance and minerals reports. “A lot of that money will basically compensate Ghost Ranch,” Hayden said, with the remainder funding due diligence.
Phase 2 adds 1,560 acres between Highway 84 and Carson National Forest, including land around O’Keeffe’s former home and riparian habitat along a creek feeding the reservoir.
The conservancy is a finalist for a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant and will conduct additional fundraising regardless of the outcome, Hayden said.
Hayden hopes the first phase will attract additional funding from philanthropic organizations, government agencies and individual donors for future conservation.
Legacy Fund Delivers on Conservation Promise
The project exemplifies the landscape-scale conservation the Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund was created to support.
The Natural Heritage Conservation Act program receives 11.25% of the fund’s annual distribution — about $1.4 million yearly — after sporadic funding before 2023. Ghost Ranch is the program’s largest project, Hayden said.
“This first-of-its-kind fund will provide resources to protect and preserve the lands and waters that New Mexicans so treasure,” Lujan Grisham said when the fund was created. “By dedicating increased and stable supports for critical conservation programs, we will ensure that New Mexico continues to be the Land of Enchantment for generations to come.”
The fund started with $100 million in 2023 and grew to $400 million in 2024.
According to Western Resource Advocates, in its first year, the fund allocated $12.5 million to 185 projects in 93% of counties, supporting landscape-scale conservation like Ghost Ranch.
Why Protect This Land Now?
The conservation effort comes as the reservoir’s south side has been subdivided into hundreds of parcels, with pressure growing northward.
Phase 1 protects the lakefront with “huge development potential,” Hayden said, aiming to prevent subdivision like the south side.
Hayden said conversations had been ongoing “for the better part of the last decade,” but restarted in earnest when Hayden and CEO David Evans began in January 2024.
“Once it’s legally subdivided, and once they start putting in roads and utilities and septic, it’s really hard to get back into a natural state,” Hayden said. “By being proactive about this and prohibiting that from happening, we’re helping ensure that it’s going to stay one continuous natural landscape.”
Ranching and Recreation Will Continue
The easements protect the land from development while preserving ranching and recreational traditions. Development rights transfer to the conservancy, holding them in public trust.
Hayden said the easements “conserve the natural resources of the land” while preserving “the cultural heritage and traditions of that land by allowing things like grazing and other historic uses to continue.”
Subdivision, roads, utilities, septic systems, commercial development and resource extraction are prohibited, keeping the land intact.
The easements allow traditional operations to continue and public access will not change under the easements.
The Abiquiú grazing cooperative can continue using the land as winter pasture via historic methods like horseback. Recreational activities and commercial filming are allowed under strict land restoration requirements.
How Will the Land Stay Protected?
The easements will take about two years to finalize as the conservancy conducts surveys, title reports and baseline documentation. Best case: easements recorded by late 2026.
The easements are perpetual, binding all future owners. The conservancy will conduct annual monitoring visits via hiking, driving and aerial observation.
The conservancy holds 136 easements statewide, resolving all violations without litigation.