Conservation Projects

For nearly 15 years, Vermejo Park ownership and management have dedicated countless amounts of time, energy, and money to enhance and preserve the Ranch’s natural resources. There are several conservation projects that put Vermejo Park in a class by itself: riparian and timber restoration, forest thinning, reintroduction of the native Rio Grande cutthroat trout, preservation and expansion of both black-tailed and Gunnison’s prairie dog habitats, as well as the reintroduction of the endangered black-footed ferrets. The Ranch may well be one of the best examples of private land conservation efforts for threatened or imperiled species.

Ranch Ecology and Conservation  |  Animal Protection  |  Land Management  |  Natural Resources

RANCH ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION

Riparian Restoration

Vermejo Park began a concerted effort in 2008 to develop a holistic riparian restoration plan. The long-term goals for the project are to restore critical and severely impacted watercourse areas in order to improve trout habitats and promote keystone species like beaver.

Floristic Inventory of Vermejo Park Ranch

Ben Legler, a graduate student in the botany program at the University of Wyoming, discovered two new species of plants during a recent inventory of Vermejo Park Ranch. Legler documented 1,094 different plant species, which include nearly 25 percent of all native New Mexican plants. Twenty-six species previously unknown to New Mexico landscapes were discovered, as were two new species: a showy alpine Phlox and a diminutive fern-like plant in the genus Botrychium.

Castle Rock Bison

Vermejo Park Ranch is one of a handful of private ranches that owns genetically pure bison. The unique heredity of the Castle Rock herd is protected and the pack is growing in size. Vermejo plans to have only Castle Rock bison on the Ranch by the end of 2010;  all other bison will be sent to other Turner ranches.

Santa Fe Trail Mule Deer Adaptive Management Partnership

Vermejo Park and its neighbors participated in a research project with the New Mexico Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit from 2002 to 2004 to address decreases in mule deer populations. Vermejo Park allowed access, offered assistance to researchers and then performed habitat improvement projects on several thousand acres. The mule deer population is now on the rebound.

Elk Calf Survival

Starting in 2009, Vermejo Park and the New Mexico Game and Fish Department began studying causes of elk calf mortality to better manage the Ranch’s elk herd.

Ecological Restoration of Ponderosa Pine

Vermejo Park began a program in 1998 to thin the Ponderosa pine forests back to pre-settlement conditions. To date, approximately 18,000 acres have been treated and several local industries have been developed around the program, which has provided over 80 jobs in the community.

Aspen Restoration

During 2008, several experimental types of forestry treatments were started with the hope of stimulating the regeneration of aspen stands in the upland forests that have been declining for years.

Permanent Plot Vegetation Monitoring Projects

Vermejo Park began to develop baseline vegetation conditions on the Ranch in 1998. Started as a forestry program, the project expanded to include the short-grass prairie in 2003. In 2007, Vermejo Park accelerated its monitoring program to include the entire Ranch. Currently, over 50 permanent vegetation-monitoring plots have been established.

Invasive Species Control

Vermejo Park began a coordinated invasive species control program in 2005. The primary objectives are to eliminate saltcedar, Chinese elm and Russian olive from riparian areas; to control or eradicate (if possible) leafy spurge from the Ponil drainage, and to control invasive species such as Canada thistle, bull thistle, musk thistle, yellow toadflax, knapweeds, hoary cress, and other non-native species.

ANIMAL PROTECTION

Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout Reintroduction

After several years of planning that involved Vermejo Park Ranch, the Turner Endangered Species Fund, New Mexico Game and Fish, and the Colorado Division of Wildlife, fish barriers were constructed in 2000 in the Costilla Creek watershed. The goal is returning indigenous Rio Grande cutthroat trout habitat to the entire watershed, including the Costilla Reservoir.

Black-Footed Ferrets and Black-Tailed and Gunnison’s Prairie Dogs

In 1998, Vermejo Park Ranch and the Turner Endangered Species Fund partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in an effort to restore the endangered black-footed ferret to the wild. The ferret project began as a pen-based breeding facility and evolved into an experimental release site. Following a ten-year restoration effort, black-footed ferrets were successfully and permanently released into their native New Mexico habitat on Vermejo Park in the fall of 2008.

When Ted Turner’s Vermejo Park, LLC purchased Vermejo Park in 1996, the Ranch had fewer than 500 acres of prairie dog habitat. Black-footed ferrets are obligate predators of prairie dogs and, as such, require large acreages of prairie dogs for both food and shelter. In 1999, Vermejo Park began expanding its prairie dog colonies with the goal of becoming a release site for ferrets. Today, Vermejo Park has over 8,000 acres of habitat occupied by prairie dogs, a keystone species on the short-grass prairie.

LAND MANAGEMENT

Abandoned Coal Mine Reclamation in Dillon and Crow Canyons

Vermejo Park Ranch and the New Mexico Abandoned Mine Lands Program began a project in 2007 to assess and reclaim abandoned coal waste in Dillon and Crow canyons. Archaeological and aerial surveys were completed in 2007 and 2008. A Request For Proposal was issued in 2008 for engineering and project oversight for reclamation of coal waste piles at Brilliant #2, Gardiner and Koehler mines. Currently, reclamation is expected to commence in late 2010.

Cimarron Watershed Alliance 319 Grant

A restoration project to cool and improve the water quality of Ponil Creek was begun in conjunction with the Cimarron Watershed Alliance and Vermejo’s many neighbors. This project was undertaken to improve fish habit. Members in the Ponil Working Group include Philmont Scout Ranch, Chase Ranch, CS Ranch, the New Mexico Game and Fish Department, and Vermejo Park Ranch. Currently, this coalition is working to engage the National Forest Service, which controls the headwaters in the Valle Vidal unit of the Carson National Forest. Vermejo Park will begin the process of restoring a more natural riparian system by planting cottonwoods to provide shade and cool the water, improving low water crossings to reduce sediment, and stabilizing and restoring the severe head cuts and cut banks along the streams.

Shaded Fuel Break along Santa Fe Trail Ranch

Vermejo Park, Colorado State Forestry, and New Mexico State Forestry have worked to provide a shaded fuel break along Vermejo’s boundary with the Santa Fe Trail Ranch Estates, a sub-division south of Trinidad, CO, since 2005. A shaded fuel break is an area of thinned forest that will provide protection for the Santa Fe Trails Estates sub-division against wild land fires.

NATURAL RESOURCES

Solar Plant Development

The Cimarron I Solar Project is located on the Ranch near Maxwell, New Mexico and consists of approximately 500,000 photovoltaic modules set over an area of 225 acres. Southern Company and Turner Renewable Energy own the 30-megawatt project; however, First Solar Corporation is building and will operate the plant. Current estimates suggest the solar plant will provide enough energy for 9,000 homes.

Vermejo Park/El Paso Coal Bed Methane Development

Gas development began at Vermejo Park Ranch in 1998 and is governed by the Mineral Extraction Agreement, which was written when Mr. Turner’s Vermejo Park, LLC purchased the Ranch from Pennzoil Corporation. While Vermejo Park, LLC is the surface owner, El Paso E&P Company ("El Paso") owns the land’s subsurface gas rights, and this landmark agreement provides the guidelines, checks, balances, and requirements necessary to minimize the impacts on the Ranch from gas development. It also provides a framework for Vermejo Park’s Natural Resources Department to work closely with El Paso’s development staff.

Vermejo Park/El Paso Ground Water Monitoring Project

Vermejo Park and El Paso developed a monitoring program to track changes in ground water levels and quality. Seventy wells are currently monitored and several new monitoring wells were drilled as part of the program to determine if coal bed methane gas development affects ground water.

Vermejo Park/El Paso Alternative Uses for Produced Water

Vermejo Park and El Paso are currently in the scoping process to investigate alternative uses for the produced water generated from coal bed natural gas development. Currently all of the produced water is re-injected into deep saline aquifers. The goal of the study is to determine if a more beneficial use can be found for the produced water.

Vermejo Park/University of Arizona River Stability Project

Vermejo Park and the University of Arizona completed a project documenting cross-sectional areas and vegetation of the Canadian river and ancillary drainages in 1999. The goal of the study was to determine factors involving river formation and bank stability.