Making Money and Preserving the Land: Montosa Ranch Estates

Anthony Anella (www.anella.com) is an award-winning architect and one of the most accomplished, principle-driven architects I know. Working with a rancher in Magdalena, New Mexico, Tony and his associates developed Montosa Ranch Estates. This development, located 2 hours south of Albuquerque, applies the principles of "sieve mapping" (a method by which the architect uses the natural contours of the land to determine where to build and where to leave the land in its natural state) on land preserved through a conservation easement. The result? A development that allows the land owner the ability to derive meaningful economic value from his property (through the development of luxury homes) while at the same time preserving the natural beauty of the land in perpetuity through the conservation easement. This is the type of NFPO idea that results in a win-win-win (a win for the land owner because he is able to realize economic value from his land; a win for the consumer because the homeowner has the certainty of being surrounded by land that will forever remain protected from further development; and a win for the rest of us because a beautiful piece of land will be preserved from over-development due to the conservation easement). To learn more about the Montosa Ranch, visit www.montosaranch.com. Tony has also co-authored a book describing his work on the Montosa Ranch project. The book, entitled "Saving the Ranch", may be previewed at www.anella.com or by clicking on this link: http://www.islandpress.org/books/detail.html?SKU=1-55963-473-1 (be sure to click on the "photo gallery"). Additional information on conservation easements may be found at www.conservationdesign.net.