Size: 30,828 acres
Location: Socorro County
Eco-region: Arizona - New Mexico Mountains
Conservation Values: Agricultural land, wildlife habitat, & scenic open space
Type of Project: Donated Conservation Easement
Date Completed: May 2004
Property Description:The Montosa Ranch is
located approximately 15 miles west of Magdalena between the
Gallinas Mountains to the north and the Plains of San Augustin
to the south. The property is near the Very Large Array of radio-satellite
dishes (operated by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory)
and the Cibola National Forest, and is noted for its prime habitat
for elk and other species and for its scenic beauty. The property
is comprised primary of mixed pinyon-juniper woodland and savannas,
interspersed with occasional Ponderosa pines and Gambel oak
at higher elevations. Elk, mule deer, pronghorn, wild turkey,
black bear, mountain lion, bobcats, coyotes and fox are known
to occur on the property as well as a variety of birds including
golden eagle, red-tailed hawk, American kestrel, Gambel’s
quail and mourning dove.
Through an interesting partnership between the landowners,
NMLC and a conservation-oriented landscape architecture/planning
firm, the Montosa Ranch is now protected forever as a working
cattle ranch that includes an innovative conservation development
consisting of seven carefully sited homesites. The property
adjoins the 95,000 acre Double H Ranch, owned by the Rocky Mountain
Elk Foundation, to the north and approximately 300,000 acres
of Cibola National Forest land to the east, thereby contributing
to a much larger protected landscape. B.W. Cox, the landowner,
is a lifelong cowboy who has worked on cattle ranches in Arizona
and New Mexico since he was in his teens. He and his wife, Billie,
first acquired the ranch in 1989 and developed an intense love
for the land and a sense of place. The Cox’s did not want
to see the Montosa Ranch succumb to the same fate as so many
other family ranches throughout New Mexico and the West. “Billie
and I love this ranch. We want it to always be a cattle ranch,
not have it someday carved up into 40-acre ranchettes that are
becoming so common. A handful of homesites and the conservation
easement make that possible.”
Press Releases:
Montosa Ranch
Property Photos:
