A developer’s land donation will double the size of The Nature Conservancy’s Santa Fe Canyon Preserve near the end of Upper Canyon RoadRalph Brutsche and the nonprofit conservation organization finalized the tax-deductible gift of 258 acres between Hyde Park Estates and the existing preserve this week.

That brings the donation by Brutsche and his wife, Janice, to a total of 335 acres. In 2007, the couple donated the first 77 acres. The land is part of a 495-acre parcel called the Grevey property that Brutsche bought for a high-end subdivision. The original preserve was 190 acres.

The conservancy plans to build a public trail through the property to connect to the 22-mile Dale Ball Trails system. “Our next task is to figure out how the trails will go through the preserve, probably just for hikers,” said Terry Sullivan, executive director of The Nature Conservancy in New Mexico.

The latest donation was part of Brutsche’s commitment to protect land between his 107-lot High Summit III development along Hyde Park Road and the Santa Fe Canyon Preserve.

Sullivan said The Nature Conservancy still has to review the deed for the property and record it with Santa Fe County before the donation is completed.

Property owners can take a tax deduction for land donations equal to the market value of a piece of property. Sullivan said it was hard to estimate the land’s worth now because of fluctuations in real estate values. “Certainly multiple millions of dollars, probably in excess of $6 million,” Sullivan said.

The Brutsches’ attorney, Karl Sommer, did not return a call for comment.

The preserve has a 1.5-mile loop trail that takes hikers past wetlands and remnants of the old Two Mile Reservoir. Black bears, cougars, beavers and a large variety of birds live in or near the preserve.

Sullivan said The Nature Conservancy is working with the Santa Fe Watershed Association to restore a part of the Santa Fe River through the preserve and expand the riparian area. And “we will continue to monitor and cheer on the large colony of beavers that have moved into the preserve,” he said.

The Nature Conservancy owns and manages six preserves covering more than 1.4 million acres of land in New Mexico and millions of acres more in the U.S. and around the world.

Staci Matlock | The New Mexican

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