The first time Phil Jenni saw the land, it was just a satellite image on a computer screen. Still, he could see the potential — the vast stretches of old trees, the chain of deep, clear lakes.

The Inver Grove Heights property was the perfect solution for the Roseville-based Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, where Jenni is executive director. The center needed a place to release rehabilitated animals, and landowner Vance Grannis Jr. was willing to let it operate there for free.

"It's been huge for us," Jenni said. "There's not a lot of places like that close in in the metro."

But the land and everything it's used for — not just the rehabilitation center but turkey hunting classes, bluebird houses, experimental organic fields — might be at risk, depending on whether Dakota County leaders decide to give it long-term protections.

The 134-acre property has been in the Grannis family since the 1920s, when a portion of it was purchased for use as a dairy farm. Grannis now owns the land with his cousins, and lives with his wife, Darlene, in a house they built in 1962.

For years, they've been trying to turn the property into a preserve and education space called Darvan Acres Nature Center — a combination of Vance and Darlene's first names. The hope is that the nature center could ultimately include a neighboring property as well, bringing the total size to about 250 acres.

To achieve that, the Grannis family has spent nearly a decade pursuing a conservation easement — an agreement with the county that would protect the land long-term. Grannis would still own the land, but neither he nor any future owner would be able to develop it.

"Mr. Grannis is not going to be around forever," said Al Singer, Dakota County's land conservation manager. "His goal of being able to provide this place for public education is not likely to occur if the land is not protected."

Grannis, 79, initially pursued a partnership with Dodge Nature Center in West St. Paul, but it fell through around the time of the recession. Soon after, county officials suggested the conservation easement as a potential solution and in 2011 acquired a 17-acre easement. Two years later, the City Council in Inver Grove Heights — where Grannis was mayor in the 1960s — unanimously approved a zoning ordinance amendment to allow for the nature center.

Dakota County would acquire an easement for the additional acreage with a combination of county dollars and part of a $4.1 million outdoor heritage fund award that's set to expire at the end of June. An independent appraiser has assessed the land, Singer said, but estimates are private because negotiations are ongoing.

Grannis estimates that the land could fetch about $6 million if sold to a developer, but he has told the county he would take $4 million. On March 1, the board met in a closed session to discuss negotiations. A decision is expected next month, once Grannis returns to the board with an updated offer, Singer said.

"[Grannis] could make a lot of money selling that land," Jenni said. "It's a purely altruistic conservation mind-set that he has."

At this point, though, it's unclear whether the County Board will opt to conserve the land. And without that protection, Grannis said, he would consider selling to a developer.

"A lot of times, you have only one chance to protect these properties," said Ben Van Gundy, former executive director at Dodge Nature Center. "Of course, once it's developed, it's developed."

Emma Nelson • 612-673-4509 • emma.nelson@startribune.com