“Our living Mother Earth is not only humanity’s past, but its hope for the future. We are not the owners of the land we occupy, nor its tenants, nor simply its caretakers. We are part of the living earth itself. Let us preserve it.”

 

— Frank Waters, southwestern author and TLT's first conservation easement donor in 1991

 

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WHAT IS A LAND TRUST?

Land trusts and conservation easements have been around for over a hundred years. The first land trust in Massachusetts was established in 1891 for "the preservation of beautiful and historical places." The land trust movement really took off in 1980 when Congress created a new tax benefit for donated conservation easements, as an incentive for landowners and in recognition of the tremendous public gift of voluntarily retiring development rights on private land.

New Mexico provides additional and extremely generous tax benefits which are accessible to landowners at any income level.

Today, Taos Land Trust is one of over 1,700 land trusts working across the country that have permanently protected over 37 million acres of land.

 
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