It Starts With The Land

Historical records show this land was characterized by lush wetlands, riparian vegetation and high groundwater tables. Today the ranch is much drier than it once was, but through regenerative land management we can bring life back to the land.

We are here to restore the land, protect its rugged beauty, habitat, wildlife and return it to ecological health. We are here to connect it to larger ecosystems in a key habitat corridor from Mexico to Canada, by ensuring the land, water, and resources are healthy and productive. We draw on the land ethic of indigenous people who have stewarded this landscape for thousands of years and who views community as not only the people around us, but also the soil, water, flora and fauna.

“It’s not the cow, it’s the how.”

Ranching with regenerative practices makes the land healthier. Too often cattle and livestock generally are presented as the enemy of environmental health. But we know “it’s not the cow, it’s the how.” How you manage cattle on the land determines whether they’ll help to heal the ecosystem or further degrade it. We are using cattle to mimic the grazing patterns of the herds of elk and bison that once moved across American grasslands. These herds were dependent on healthy grasslands, and so too were the grasslands dependent on herds of grazing animals. Grasses and herbivores coevolved and we need to restore that relationship to heal these ecosystems.

Redefining Conservation

The old conservation paradigm seeks to remove people and livestock from the land. However, scientists and land managers are demonstrating that we can’t just walk away and expect these landscapes to heal themselves. Human activity has so disrupted these natural processes that degradation will continue if we don’t actively seek to solve the problem. People and the livestock they manage are necessary to restore these ecological processes for our benefit and for the benefit of the wildlife we share this landscape with. We draw on the land ethic of the Indigenous people who have stewarded this landscape for thousands of years and see our community as not only the humans around us, but also the soil, water, flora and fauna.

Come See What We Do

We wish to share this large western landscape and all it has to offer. The Ranch showcases activities centered on enjoying the land, water, and wildlife. The more we can share the urgency of working together to help keep landscapes healthy and connected, the better. We need a wider net of people to become everyday advocates for regenerative land practices and policy.