The Montezuma Land Conservancy will hold its annual Harvest Beer Festival this Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m. in Parque de Vida, Cortez.

The centerpiece of the festival will be beer from nine regional breweries. For those adults wanting to taste the brews, a $30 admission fee includes a souvenir pint glass and beer samples.

The festival is about more than beer. There will be food vendors, musical by the Beautiful Loser Society, and children’s activities organized by the Pinon Project. General admission is $20, and children 12 and under will be admitted free with a paying adult.

According to its website, www.montezumaland.org, “Montezuma Land Conservancy exists to permanently protect important open lands in partnership with landowners, in order to conserve agricultural, natural, and scenic open space resources in and around Montezuma and Dolores Counties. We accomplish our mission by working cooperatively with landowners in a non-regulatory manner.”

The organization uses voluntary incentive-based approaches rather than regulation. MLC partners with landowners who wish to protect agricultural lands and open space. The most common tool is a conservation easement—a voluntary agreement between a landowner and a land trust that limits development and subdivision to protect important lands. Landowners can donate or sell conservation easements, depending on the circumstances. Properties remains in private ownership and on the tax rolls, and landowners retain all other property rights, including the right to sell or pass on their lands as they wish.

An easement is only as restrictive as the landowner wishes it to be. If the goal is to protect farm or ranch land and keep it in productivity, for example, an easement may restrict subdivision and development while allowing for structures and activities necessary for the agricultural operation.

If the landowner’s goal is to preserve a pristine natural area, an easement may prohibit all construction outside of a pre-determined “building envelope,” as well as any activities that would alter the land’s present natural condition.

However, even the most restrictive easements permit the continuation of historical uses of the land.

For more information about Montezuma Land Conservancy, call 970-565-1664 or log onto www.montezumaland.org.