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Santa Fe Canyon Preserve Will Double in Size Thanks to Neighbor's Donation of Keystone Propery Containing Aztec Springs

Santa Fe, New Mexico— April 12, 2007 — Located only 2.5 miles from the Santa Fe Plaza, The Nature Conservancy’s Santa Fe Canyon Preserve contains a beautiful slice of New Mexico’s enchanted landscape, and is both a recreational and educational treasure for Santa Feans.  And thanks to the recent gift of 77 acres of prime land next to the preserve, starting this year the Santa Fe Canyon Preserve will begin a major series of expansions. This is the first in a series of land donations to the Conservancy by longtime Santa Fe residents Ralph and Janice Brutsche. Four additional tracts are scheduled to be transferred over the next four years. When completed, the donation will include over 335 acres of land - more than doubling the size of the preserve from 190 to 567 acres.

The dense cottonwood-willow bosque along the upper reaches of the Santa Fe River found within the preserve represents the City’s best streamside forest, and is home to more than 140 species of birds.  The property also provides habitat for beaver, deer, black bear and the occasional mountain lion.  The Brutsche donation is ecologically important because it contains Aztec Springs Creek, a key tributary to the Santa Fe River.

State director Terry Sullivan said, “the Brutsche’s generosity will be appreciated by New Mexicans far into the future, and is a keystone that will greatly help the Conservancy continue its efforts to restore and protect the Santa Fe River and watershed.  It’s an extraordinary gift not just to the Conservancy, but also to the people of Santa Fe.”

Currently the preserve is used year-round and is adjacent to municipal open space and the trailhead for the Dale Ball Trail system. The preserve has a 1.5 mile interpretive loop trail (please note dogs and bikes are not permitted in the preserve) which will eventually be extended through the donated property.

The land which is now the Santa Fe Canyon Preserve was once Santa Fe’s hydroelectric center, and it still contains remnants of a historic Victorian-era dam.  Today, this land is a peaceful nature preserve brimming with a remarkable array of bird species, wildflowers, willows, ponderosa pine, songbirds, deer, bear and even a beaver or two.

Deeded by Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) and now owned by The Nature Conservancy, the preserve is nestled between the Santa Fe National Forest and Upper Canyon Road and is within walking distance of Santa Fe’s bustling city center.

Santa Fe Canyon Preserve was launched in April 2000 when PNM donated the site to the Conservancy.

“This was a prime piece of open space,” said Marc Christensen, PNM executive and a board member of The Nature Conservancy.  “PNM wanted to protect this land for future generations and we felt the Conservancy was the right organization to do that.”

Within the preserve are the ruins of Old Stone Dam, built in 1881. This was the city’s first official attempt to harness the Santa Fe River to supply local residents with water. A flood in 1904 filled the dam with silt. By then, Two-Mile Dam, the remains of which are also on the property, was in place to meet Santa Fe’s growing water needs. Completed in 1893, Two-Mile Dam was the second of four dams built on the Santa Fe River to store its seasonal flow. Once the largest structure in Santa Fe, the earthen dam was built by using a herd of goats to stamp in place the many tons of soil used for the project.

The preserve also serves as a trailhead for the 30-mile Dale Ball Foothill Trail System. The Brutsche’s donation will augment efforts of The Nature Conservancy, the City of Santa Fe and the Santa Fe County Open Lands and Trails Policy Advisory Committee to create one of the most extensive urban trail networks in New Mexico.

Editors: Photographs of The Santa Fe Canyon Preserve, along with a map of the property, are available in digital format for publication from The Nature Conservancy. 

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.