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Native plant groups and weed-management partners urge Taos to consider conservation easement for Cornelio Basin
Summary
Speakers from the Taos Native Plant Society, Natas County Collaborative Weed Management Area and Taos Land Trust asked the council to consider a permanent conservation easement to protect Cornelio Basin as agricultural and demonstration/open space following a $170,000 BIL implementation grant and years of volunteer restoration work.
Local conservation and volunteer groups urged the Town Council to protect Cornelio Basin through a conservation easement as restoration work supported by a federal BIL grant nears implementation.
Robert Pokorny, chairman of the Natas County Collaborative Weed Management Area, presented aerial photos of restored acequia channels and wetlands and described volunteer-led efforts to remove Scotch thistle, repair the historic acequia and reestablish water flow. "We've started some hand mitigation of Scotch Thistle...we've started work on rebuilding the historic acequia that goes through there," Pokorny said.
Tanya Duncan of the Taos Soil and Water Conservation District told the council that the basin is a rare swath of irrigated acreage within town and noted potential programmatic and funding tools. "With a conservation easement, the town is eligible for transferable tax credits that could yield about $200,000 in sales of credits," she said, adding that easement transaction and administration costs could range in the tens of thousands. Pokorny said the group had secured a $170,000 BIL grant that will finance implementation work shortly, and asked the council to start a public conversation about the long-term status of the property so restoration gains are not later lost to development.
Council members and staff noted the basin's adjacency to Fred Baca Park and to Taos Land Trust property, discussed master-plan designations (Council Member Ortega observed the park master plan lists the site as a dog-park location), and emphasized the need to reconcile park planning, agricultural preservation and public-use expectations. Council members suggested staff research conservation-easement mechanics and potential funding options and to coordinate community engagement before decisions are made.
The presenters said they envisioned multiuse open space — demonstration fields for native plants, educational paths and agricultural use — and asked the council to place the basin's long-term status on its planning agenda so any implementation work under the BIL grant proceeds with clear municipal direction.
