Publications

Saving the Ranch: Conservation Easement Design in the American West, By Anthony Anella and John B. Wright (2004) Island Press

With the rapidly changing economics of life in the American West, ranchers from Montana to New Mexico are finding the development land value of their land is now worth more than the cattle it produces. “Cashing In” has become an increasingly chosen solution, and often the integrity of the land becomes an afterthought to economic survival. In Saving the Ranch: Conservation Easement Design in the American West, authors Anthony Anella and John B. Wright offer an alternative solution, the conservation easement; a voluntary legal agreement that puts the market to work for the land, and allows ranchers to capitalize on a lifetime of stewardship.

Saving the Ranch is a concise and readable guide to conservation easements for ranchers, conservationists, and developers concerned with protecting the natural and scenic values of ranch lands in the western United States. The book shows how ranchers can reduce estate taxes, generate and shelter income, and combine land conservation with estate planning. Case studies explore how conservation easements have been used, helping readers to understand the variety of circumstances under which easements can be effective. Throughout the book, maps and illustrations easily interpret the issues, while Santa Fe photographer Edward Ranney brings those issues to life with his rich and captivating photographs.

Saving the Ranch gives ranchers the information they need to continue their stewardship of natural resources while identifying and capturing the conservation value of their land. The first book of its kind to describe in plain and elegant language the steps to save a ranch from development destruction, it is the essential new work for anyone concerned with conserving ranching as a way of life in the American West.

From the foreword of Lawrence R. Keuter, Isaacson, Rosenhaum, Woods & Levy, P.C. Denver CO. “Saving the Ranch describes, from a wonderful perspective, what a conservation easement can do for a landowner in the American West. Understanding this choice, and making a conscious decision about whether or not to protect the land, is something that every ranch owner should do.”

“…We wrote this book to provide ranchers and their advisers with a reliable, evenhanded explanation of what conservation easement are and how they work. Solid decisions are based on having solid information. We hope that Saving the Ranch forms a stronger bridge between ranchers and the various land conservation organizations across the West.” Co-authors: Anthony Anella and John B. Wright.

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