Corrales bond program will fund conservation easements to keep farmland in production

Corrales’ Farmland Preservation Commission held a public briefing explaining how the village’s general-obligation bond will be used to purchase conservation easements to preserve working farmland and wildlife habitat.

Co-chair Sam Thompson said the program responds to mounting pressure on local farms. “Agriculture is extremely important in the village of Corrales,” Thompson said, citing multi‑generational farms and past voter support for farmland bonds.

Jonathan Hayden, director of the New Mexico Land Conservancy, and other NMLC staff described the basic mechanics and scale of conservation easements. “We’ve conserved land across the state with 130 conservation easements,” Hayden said, and noted easements can be effective for parcels ranging from a couple of acres to very large holdings. Michael Cisco, the village’s contracted implementor, told attendees the village passed a $2 million bond to purchase conservation easements and described the application and approval steps: interested landowners meet with implementers, the Farmland Commission scores applications against criteria (viewshed, water availability, rural character, size, current use, biodiversity and location), and the Village Council makes final funding decisions.

The presenters said easements are voluntary, perpetual legal interests…