SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A new conservation agreement will preserve land with breathtaking desert vistas that inspired the work of 20th century painter Georgia O’Keeffe and ensure visitors access to an adjacent educational retreat, several partners to the pact announced Tuesday.

Initial phases of the plan establish a conservation easement across about 10 square miles (26 square kilometers) of land, owned by a charitable arm of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), on the outskirts of the village of Abiquiu.

That easement stretches across reservoir waterfront and native grasslands to the doorstep of a remote home owned by O’Keeffe’s estate, a few miles from her larger home and studio in Abiquiu. Both homes are outside the conservation area and owned and managed separately by the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe.

The view from the rangeland should be familiar to even casual O’Keeffe afficionados — including desert washes, sandstone bluffs and the distant mountain silhouette of Cerro Pedernal.

“The stark colorful geology, the verdant grasslands going right down to the Chama River and Abiquiu lake — all that just makes it such a multifaceted place with tremendous conservation value,” said Jonathan Hayden, executive director of the New Mexico Land Conservancy that helped broker the conservation plan and will oversee easements.

Hayden said the voluntary plan guards against the potential encroachment of modern development that might subdivide and transform the property, though there are not any imminent proposals.

Land within an initial easement has been the backdrop to movie sets for decades, including a recreation of wartime Los Alamos in the hit 2024 film “Oppenheimer, ” on a temporary movie set that still stands.

The conservation agreement guarantees some continued access for film productions, as well as preserving traditional winter grazing for farmers who usher small herds down from the mountains as snow arrives.

The state of New Mexico is substantially underwriting the initiative though a trust created by state lawmakers in 2023.

An approved $920,000 state award is being set aside for easement surveys, transaction costs and a financial nest-egg that the Presbyterian Church Foundation will use — while retaining property ownership — to support programming at the adjacent Ghost Ranch Education & Retreat Center and its use of the conservation area.

The center attracts about 10,000 visitors a year to overnight spiritual, artistic and literary retreats for people of all faiths, with twice as many day visitors, said center CEO David Evans.

Two initial phases of the conservation plan are part of a broader plan to protect more than 30 square miles (78 square kilometers) of the area through conservation easements and public land transfers, with the support of at least one wildlife foundation. That would extend protections to the banks of the Chama River and preserve additional wildlife habitat.

Many Native American communities trace their ancestry to the area in northern New Mexico where O’Keeffe settled and explored the landscape in her work.

NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – With years of well-documented problems for the New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department, New Mexico is making its first watchdog agency to monitor the department, and that office is finally taking shape. 

“It’s very much needed right now, and I think that New Mexico is making some good moves and ways to look out for child well-being in this state,” said Rep. Michelle Paulene Abeyta (D-To’hajilee). 

It’s an effort to keep a closer eye on continued problems in New Mexico’s Children, Youth and Families Department, a department long criticized for failing to protect children. Under the control of the New Mexico Attorney General, the “Office of the Child Advocate” is expected to open next year, and the committee tasked with picking that leader is well underway in its work. A bipartisan group of lawmakers backed House Bill 5, creating New Mexico’s “Office of the Child Advocate,” and a handful of candidates vying to lead that office have already been interviewed.  

“The candidate pool was very impressive, almost every candidate met the minimum qualifications of having the social work background, a law background, or a psychology background, and combined with that, education was years of experience,” said Rep. Abeyta. 

A To’hajiilee democrat, Rep. Michelle Paulene Abeyta, is part of the seven-member committee doing the interviews. The national search is now down to eight candidates.  

“The Office of the Child Advocate will be focused on complaints that we’ve all been hearing about in the media, most recently, children sleeping in CYFD offices will be a huge one, and then also looking at what we’re doing to help support families with family reunification,” said Abeyta. 

The Office of the Child Advocate exists within the New Mexico Department of Justice, which right now said they’ve been taking on an administrative role. 

“We as you know have broad statutory authority in the state of New Mexico and for the Child Advocate to be sending us investigations, and recommendations, and tips and things of that nature, it makes sense for our office to tackle since we do have a broad range of statutory obligations,” said Lauren Rodriguez, Chief of Staff for the New Mexico Department of Justice. 

The interview team is hoping to narrow down the pool of candidates down from eight before sending their suggestions to the governor, who will have the ultimate say in who leads the “office.” The governor is expected to make that pick by January. 

The Gophers and Lobos don’t face off in this year’s Rate Bowl until December 26, but early betting odds from FanDuel Sportsbook view Minnesota as a 3.5-point betting favorite for this year’s showdown.

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Jason Eck

The Lobos are led by first-year head coach Jason Eck, who’s one of the fastest-rising names in the profession. The former Wisconsin offensive lineman in the 1990s has plenty of Midwest ties. He coached at Minnesota Division-II programs Winona State in 2007-08 and Minnesota State in 2013-14. His first head coach job came in 2022 at Idaho, and he built the Vandals into a 10-win program by 2024. He delivered New Mexico its first nine-win campaign since 2016 in his first season with the program.

New Mexico players to know

There are always going to be opt-outs in the modern edition of bowl games, but these two teams could wind up having some of the fewest in the country. The Lobos are littered with former Idaho transfers, mainly quarterback Jack Layne, who has completed 65.9% of his passes for 2,398 yards, 17 total touchdowns and nine interceptions this season.

Their top offensive playmakers are Weber State transfer running back Damon Bankston, who has 952 yards from scrimmage, along with Kansas State transfer wide receiver Keagan Johnson, who leads the team with 57 catches for 730 yards and three touchdowns. The head coach’s son, Jaxton Eck, leads the team with 126 total tackles.

More Big Ten road wins than Minnesota

The Lobos opened the season with a hard-fought 34-17 loss at No. 14 Michigan to open the season. They proceeded to have one of their best regular seasons in program history, which was highlighted by a 35-10 blowout win at UCLA. They were surprisingly left out of the Mountain West conference title game, despite finishing in a four-way tie for first place.

According to ESPN writer Bill Connely’s latest SP+ ranking, New Mexico is No. 65 in the country, which is higher than Minnesota at No. 71. The Lobos are one spot below Northwestern, and ahead of other notable Gophers’ regular-season opponents, such as Rutgers, California, Michigan State, Purdue, Wisconsin, Buffalo and Northwestern State. Don’t let the Lobos’ conference affiliation fool you; they will provide Minnesota with a real test.

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