The largest conservation easement in Southwest Colorado, on a 2,300-acre farm north of Cortez, was completed on Jan. 23.

Chuck and M.B. McAfee, who live on the McAfee farm, worked with the Montezuma Land Conservancy and La Plata Open Space Conservancy to preserve six parcels of land originally homesteaded by Chuck McAfee’s grandfather.

The parcels lie east and north of the communities of Lewis and Yellow Jacket, and include ancient Puebloan archeological ruins, winter habitat for deer and elk, and historic agricultural lands.

"The location is critical both for agriculture and for wildlife," said Kevin Essington, executive director of the Montezuma Land Conservancy.

The McAfees can cite numerous elk, deer, eagles, white weasels, coyotes, badgers, and many migratory and predatory birds seen on the property.

The easement title is held by the La Plata Open Space Conservancy, which is responsible for enforcing the terms of the easement. But the Montezuma Land Conservancy will annually monitor the easement.

"The whole area the easement is in is still undeveloped," said Essington. "If you look at a map of the county, right around Lewis is the furthest that development has gone, and that’s the direction that development in the county is going to go. That might not happen this year, and that might not happen next year, but it’s going to happen."

The McAfee family trust, which includes Chuck and his three siblings, owns the property. Chuck and M.B. McAfee, whose families — the McAfees and the Garrisons — are considered pillars of the community, permanently prohibited the farm from subdivision or development with the easement. They retained the right to develop four additional home sites, and allow for recreation and agricultural production.

Chuck McAfee said that before his father, Charles McAfee, died in 1998, he advocated the easement. "He didn’t want it to be developed," explained McAfee.

After five years of crafting the easement, McAfee said he is "very happy to see the easement signed and in place." For other landowners who are considering an easement, McAfee offers this advice: "You have to know why you want to do it, and you should want to do it for the right reason. Preservation should be the No. 1 concern."

"Estate-planning is a way to hang onto your land, preserve what you like, and realize some benefit," he continued.

Although easements can offer significant tax benefits, Essington and McAfee cautioned against viewing the transaction as a financial windfall.

"No one should donate an easement thinking, ‘I may get a tax break’," Essington warned. "It’s a serious decision and it should be taken seriously by the heirs that the landowner wants to see on the property — they need to be involved in the easement negotiations."

The McAfees have long been involved in environmental causes. M.B. McAfee currently serves as the environmental representative on the BLM’s Southwest Regional Advisory Council. Chuck McAfee was instrumental in founding the Colorado Open Space Council, and sits on the board of both the Montezuma and La Plata conservancies.

The couple lived in Loveland, Colo., for 32 years before moving back to Lewis to farm the family’s land. Much of McAfee’s current farming operation has been put into the federal Conservation Reservation Program to provide habitat for wildlife. McAfee is planning four seedings this year specifically targeted to produce adequate elk forage.

Historically, half of the land parcels in the easement have been used to farm beans, alfalfa, and wheat.