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Man With Object at Mouth (1992/1994), gelatin silver print Man With Object at Mouth (1992/1994), gelatin silver The home’s entry print courtyard. The long horizontal windows open up the space and add visual interest by providing glimpses into the kitchen.
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ifteen miles south of Santa Fe lies a vast frontier unbridled by urban development. Exquisite, limitless skies are punctuated by panoramic mountain views—the Sangre de Cristos to the northeast, the Ortiz to the southwest, the Jemez Mountains to the northwest, and the Cerrillos hills to the west. Pronghorn antelope, elks, bears, bobcats, and mountain lions roam the 470,000-acre basin at their leisure, treading on ancient territory that shelters artifacts dating back almost 10,000 years. Understandably, humans also want to live amid this beauty. Private landowners, including fashion designer Tom Ford, rancher Bill Sanders, and the Singleton family, occupy most of the land within the basin’s visible boundaries, with the remaining 18,000 acres held by the New Mexico State Land Office and Bureau of Land Management. However, about ten years ago, its northern rim, a 13,200-acre spread previously known as Thornton Ranch, risked being split into 40-acre homesteads that would fragment wildlife corridors, prevent public recreation, and endanger cultural resources. To avoid following the standard real estate route while preserving this ecologically and culturally rich landscape, conservationist Ted Harrison, who worked for 17 years for the Trust for Public Land in various capacities, established the Commonweal Conservancy in 2003. This nonprofit conservation stewardship development created a multiphased, multiyear contract to acquire the Galisteo Basin Preserve. According to Conservancy president Harrison, who also chairs Commonweal Communities, a for-profit subsidiary that develops the properties, “We began work to create a model for respectful real estate development within the context of a very fragile, resource-based terrain. This was an attempt to look at development rights, aggregate them into a concentrated set of footsteps, and allow the vast majority of the land to be protected.” Ultimately, less than 4 percent will be developed, while 96 percent will be protected open space for both privately held properties and the general public. Property sales will support the acquisition, protection, and stewardship of the preserve, while also funding a much anticipated Fall 2013–Spring 2014 Trend 193