Project Details
Area: NORTHEAST
Size: 58 acres
Location: San Miguel County
Eco-Region: Southern Shortgrass Prairie
Conservation Values: Agriculture, Scenic Open Space
Type of Project: Transferred Conservation Easement
Date Completed: January, 2004
Tyson Property
The Tyson property is located near the main entrance to the Las Vegas Wildlife Refuge, three miles southeast of Las Vegas. The easement protects 58 acres of irrigated farmland, which is also important to waterfowl migrating to and from the nearby refuge. The conservation easement was originally granted by Frances Tyson to the Taos Land Trust in 1998 and subsequently transferred to NMLC in 2004.
At the time of granting the easement, the late Mrs. Tyson noted:
“I have enjoyed looking out over this land for many years and decided to preserve it so that others may have the same pleasure in the future. My wish is for the land to retain the spirit of a small family farm rather than have it be used for large-scale intensive agriculture.”
Today, the land is a family partnership and is being managed by Tyson’s son-in-law, Werner Muller. “This conservation action is a real commitment to small farming,” Werner Muller noted. “It encourages the agricultural heritage and embraces the values of small farmers.”
In 2009, NMLC worked with Werner Muller and placed 225 acres of his family property, Sierra y Llanos, under a conservation easement which is located directly across the highway from the Tyson conservation easement.