What Santa Fe Conservation Trust does

Santa Fe Conservation Trust (SFCT) is a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit land trust founded in 1993 and headquartered in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Its core function is to conserve land in northern New Mexico by partnering with private landowners on voluntary conservation easements and fee title acquisitions; the organization reports stewardship of more than 46,000 acres across multiple watersheds and viewsheds, including the Galisteo Basin, Las Vegas Viewshed, Pecos River Valley, and Santa Fe Foothills. SFCT also maintains and develops public trail networks, operates the 300-acre Dovetail educational demonstration property in the Galisteo Basin, and runs community programs such as Vamonos walks, Passport to Trails, Safe Routes to School, and Dark Skies monitoring.

The organization's operational technology is its volunteer- and partnership-driven land management apparatus rather than a software platform. SFCT coordinates roughly 200 volunteers who logged more than 660 trail-work hours across 42 outings in 2024, and it convenes the GUSTO coalition of 24+ partner organizations with formal City and County of Santa Fe resolutions backing an integrated regional trail system. Core services and public trail access are provided free of charge; SFCT does not sell a product but rather funds its mission through donations, grants, fundraising events (such as the annual Stand Up For Nature gala and Banff Mountain Film Festival), and occasional corporate partnerships.

SFCT holds Land Trust Accreditation from the Land Trust Accreditation Commission since 2014, with renewal submitted in February 2025, providing a regulatory credibility anchor that supports both landowner sign-ups and donor confidence. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors and led by Executive Director Sarah Noss, with Tim Rogers managing the trails program. Customer segments are heterogeneous — private landowners entering conservation easements, individual donors and corporate sponsors, community members using trails and programs, and institutional partners — which disperses revenue risk but leaves financial inputs dependent on fundraising and philanthropic giving rather than contracted recurring revenue.

Name

Santa Fe Conservation Trust

Legal name

Santa Fe Conservation Trust

Website

https://sfct.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Santa Fe Conservation Trust is a nonprofit land trust founded in 1993 that protects more than 46,000 acres across northern New Mexico through voluntary conservation easements, public trail stewardship, and community programs serving landowners, donors, and local residents.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Land Conservation Services

NAICS

Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (712190), Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219), Support Activities for Forestry (1153), Support Activities for Forestry (11531)

SIC

Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Land Trusts & Protected Areas (BPAGAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Recreation & Activity Services (Hiking, Boating, Climbing, Fishing—Guided/Authorized) (THAAAGAF), Recreation, Ecotourism & Access Rights (Hunting, Fishing, Camping) (AFAMAMAD), Conservation Easements & Land Trust Services (AFAMAMAH)

Keywords

• Land conservation services
• Conservation easement management
• Trail network management
• Land trust operations
• Community conservation programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Fe

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: SFCT is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization supported by the generosity of donors who share the mission of a healthy environment sustaining a healthy community.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Santa Fe Conservation Trust is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit land trust that partners with private landowners to place voluntary conservation easements on more than 46,000 acres of land in northern New Mexico. It develops and manages a public trail network (anchored by the GUSTO unified trail system) and delivers free community programs such as guided walks, the Vamonos walking initiative, Passport to Trails, Dark Skies events, Safe Routes to School, and Insider Tours.

Product overview

Santa Fe Conservation Trust is a private non-profit land trust organization offering a portfolio of conservation services and community programs centered on land preservation, trail development, and environmental education in northern New Mexico. The organization provides land conservation easements for landowners, manages and maintains public trails, and operates community programs including Vamonos walking groups, Passport to Trails, Dark Skies monitoring, Safe Routes to School, and Insider Tours. Key preserved land properties include Dovetail (300-acre Galisteo Basin property) and various trail connections like La Piedra Trail. The GUSTO initiative coordinates a unified trail network throughout the Santa Fe area. SFCT protects more than 46,000 acres through conservation easements across multiple regional watersheds and viewsheds.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Dovetail: A 300-acre educational demonstration site in the Galisteo Basin showcasing land restoration techniques for climate change mitigation. Features publicly accessible trails connecting to the Galisteo Basin Preserve trail system. Located at 268 Thornton Ranch Road, Lamy, New Mexico.
• GUSTO
• Vamonos
• Passport to Trails
• Safe Routes to School
• Dark Skies

Products and services

• Conserved Land Voluntary conservation easement and stewardship service held by the Trust on behalf of private landowners across northern New Mexico, currently encompassing more than 46,000 acres.
• Vamonos Free community walking program designed to get local residents outdoors and active through group walks and routes across the Trust's trail network.
• La Piedra Trail Connection Trail connection project that links existing trail segments into a continuous public corridor, developed and managed by the Trust.
• Passport to Trails Self-guided trail-discovery program that encourages residents and visitors to explore multiple trail sites across the region using a passport booklet.
• Dark Skies Program Educational events focused on preserving night-sky visibility and raising awareness about light pollution, hosted in collaboration with conservation partners.
• Safe Routes to School Program that identifies and promotes safe walking and biking routes for students traveling to local schools.
• Insider Tours Curated behind-the-scenes tours of conserved properties and conservation easements offered to members and the general public.
• Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour Annual screening event hosted by the Trust featuring the Banff Mountain Film Festival touring program to engage outdoor and conservation audiences.
• GUSTO Unified Trail System Grand Unified Santa Fe Trails Organization - a coordinated trail system connecting more than 24 partner organizations into an integrated public trail network across the Santa Fe region.

Quantifiable outcome

• 46,000+ acres protected in perpetuity
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• GUSTO Partnership (24+ Organizations)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016GUSTO (Grand Unified Santa Fe Trails Organization) is a multi-organizational initiative to develop an integrated and unified trail system in and around Santa Fe. Partners include: Bicycle Technologies International, Cerrillos Hills Park Coalition, Commonweal Conservancy, Forest Stewards Guild, Forest Trust, Friends of Santa Fe National Forest, Glorieta Camps, Homewise Inc., National Park Service, New Mexico Dept. of Health, New Mexico Land Conservancy, New Mexico State Land Office, Oshara Village Homeowners Association, Rancho Viejo, Santa Fe Community College, Santa Fe County Horse Coalition, Santa Fe Fat Tire Society, Santa Fe Watershed Association, Sierra Club, Tano Road Association, The Nature Conservancy, The Trust for Public Land, and Trails Alliance of Santa Fe. City and County of Santa Fe have passed resolutions supporting GUSTO.
• Second Street BreweryminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership in celebration of SFCT's 20th anniversary where Second Street Brewery donated 25 cents per pint of Boneshaker Special Bitter to support land conservation efforts, up to 20,000 pints.
• National Forest FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational Forest Foundation joined SFCT to remove Siberian Elm from SFCT's Riverhaven property, demonstrating collaborative land management and restoration efforts.
• Commonweal ConservancycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSFCT works closely with Commonweal Conservancy at their Galisteo Basin Preserve, a conservation development that aims to permanently protect nearly 8,000 acres of open space, wildlife habitat, and cultural resources. SFCT holds 16 conservation easements on 7,255 acres of the GBP.
• Earth Works International and Earth AnalyticscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSFCT, along with Earth Works International and Earth Analytics, undertook the Galisteo Watershed Conservation Initiative (GWCI), creating a plan for the protection and restoration of the basin's watershed resources.
• Land Trust Accreditation CommissioncoreOthersSFCT was awarded national accreditation through the Land Trust Accreditation Commission in 2014. This accreditation must be renewed every five years, with renewal submission on February 5, 2025.
• Santa Fe Fat Tire SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSanta Fe Fat Tire Society provides technical know-how, financial support, sweat equity, and leadership for trail projects including the Riverhaven Footbridge installation, La Tierra Chili Line Trail, and various trail connections.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Friends of Santa Fe National Forest: Local nonprofit supporting conservation, trails, and stewardship on the adjacent Santa Fe National Forest. A GUSTO partner and a natural peer in trail stewardship, volunteer coordination, and forest conservation in the same geography.
• Cerrillos Hills Park Coalition: Local coalition managing a public state park in the Cerrillos Hills. Direct GUSTO partner sharing trail stewardship and community-program responsibilities in northern New Mexico.
• Santa Fe Watershed Association: Local nonprofit focused on protecting and restoring the Santa Fe River watershed. Operates in overlapping geographies, shares GUSTO coordination duties, and overlaps with SFCT's watershed-protection mission.

Broad incumbents

• The Nature Conservancy: Global environmental nonprofit that protects ecologically important lands and waters. Operates as a GUSTO partner and pursues voluntary conservation arrangements with landowners, comparable in mission to SFCT but with substantially broader geographic and capital scope.
• The Trust for Public Land: National nonprofit that acquires land and creates parks and trails for public use. Already a GUSTO partner and comparable to SFCT in conservation easement transactions and trail network development, though operating at much larger scale and across multiple states.

Emerging players

• National Park Trust: National nonprofit that acquires and preserves land in and around parks, with a focus on connecting underserved communities to public lands. Mission-aligned with SFCT's equitable-access framing, though with broader geographic scope.

Direct peers

• New Mexico Land Conservancy: Statewide New Mexico land trust providing conservation easement and fee title services to private landowners. Most direct geographic peer to SFCT, sharing overlapping service territory and the same accredited land trust structure within northern New Mexico.
• Commonweal Conservancy: Conservancy operating the Galisteo Basin Preserve, where SFCT holds 16 conservation easements on 7,255 acres. Direct operating peer sharing overlapping conserved properties and joint stewardship responsibilities in the Galisteo Basin watershed.
• Forest Stewards Guild: National organization supporting forest-based stewardship and ecological restoration. Comparable to SFCT in landowner engagement and forest ecosystem management, and a GUSTO partner in the Santa Fe region.

Others

• Land Trust Alliance: National membership organization that houses the Land Trust Accreditation Commission — the body that has accredited SFCT since 2014. Not a direct peer but a structural enabler of SFCT's accredited operating model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SantaFeConservationTrust
• Instagraminstagram.com/santafeconservationtrust
• TikToktiktok.com/@santafeconservationtrust
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/santa-fe-conservation-trust

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Santa Fe Conservation Trust