INFORMATION ON A VERY “UNIQUE” RANCH PROPERTY!
RITO SPRINGS RANCH
CATRON COUNTY, NEW MEXICO
“A WONDERFUL HUNTING & CATTLE RANCH WITH EXCEPTIONAL WATER”
UNIQUENESS: created by the numerous Natural Springs that supply the Ranch with substantial “Free –Flowing-Water” enough to fill a beautiful 15+ Acre Lake and to irrigate 200 Acres via ditches and an additional 175+ Acres of natural sub-irrigated lands with over 4 miles of flowing Creek through the Ranch!
This Ranch has been in the same Family Ownership for Over 100 Years!
SIZE & LAND STATUS: The Rito Springs Ranch contains several different land status’ as follows:
___LAND STATUS___ APPROXIMATE_ACRES
DEEDED LAND 9,579 Acres
STATE GRAZING LAND 8,041 Acres
FEDERAL (BLM) LAND 1,180 Acres
18,800 Acres, more or less, ( 28.+ Sections)
LAND TYPE or LAND USE: All of State Grazing Land and the BLM Land is considered grazing-land or rangeland and is used for grazing cattle and also grazed by various types of wildlife. The majority of the Deeded Land is also considered grazing land for cattle and wildlife but some has other unique uses as well:
A) Irrigated Farmland: 200 Acres can be farmed and has established Water Rights; this is extremely rare for a ranch to have established water rights, particularity in the Western part of the State. It should be noted that water is a very valuable resource in New Mexico!
B) Sub-irrigated Land; at least another 175 Acres produces tremendous forage, far exceeding the production of forage produced on the native rangeland,
C) Approximately 2,827 Acres has a Conservation Easement which allows normal grazing of cattle and wildlife hunting but restricts subdividing and commercial development.
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D) Approximately 15 Acres comprises a “Lake” which is filled by the Natural Spring waters and has a man-made Dam which has a controlled water outlet that channels the water to be used for irrigation.
E) Approximately 6,362 Acres of the Deeded Land is native grasslands and is currently used as grazing land for cattle and wildlife but could be subdivided.
Summary of Land Type and Uses:
1,180 Acres of BLM Land: Grazing
8,041 Acres of State Lease Land: Grazing
200 Acres of Deeded Land: Irrigated
175 Acres of Deeded Land: Sub-irrigated – Grazing
2,827 Acres of Deeded Land within a conservation easement: Grazing
15 Acres of Deeded Land: Surface Lake for water storage & recreation
6,362 Acres of Deeded Land: Grazing with no limitations on other uses
18,800 Acres Total ( Approximately 28 Sections or 28 square miles )
A ranch property in New Mexico seldom processes this much diversification which not
only adds value but enjoyment to the Ranch. An additional unique factor is the vast
majority of the Ranch has controlled vehicular access, with only one exception. That exception is a small 800 Acre Trap located in the extreme Northeast corner of the Ranch that is not locked during hunting season. The County Road is fenced on both sides of the Road and all gates are kept locked except as mentioned.. Any public hunters have to obtain permission from the Ranch owner for access.
LOCATION & ACCESSIBILITY: The Ranch is located in the Northern portion of Catron County and borders U.S. Highway 60 for about 7.5 Miles and lies about two Miles East of the community of Quemado. Highway 60 provides excellent and efficient access and there is also a graveled County Road, (which is fenced on both sides), bisecting the Ranch. This County Road provides additional access for operational purposes to portions of the Ranch. The Ranch is completely “locked-up” with no public access without permission to any part of the Ranch, so access is controlled even during hunting season.
Quemado, although small, offers the basic services: groceries, cafe, gas, diesel and propane, auto repair, motel, hardware, Post Office and school-grades 1-12. This minimizes long trips to town for supplies, a good meal or for school and school activities. This is extremely beneficial for hunters, ranchers and ranch employees and their families, alleviating many long trips!
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LOCATION & ACCESIBILITY: Albuquerque, the largest City in New Mexico offers all goods and services including an international airport. Albuquerque is located about 150 Miles from the Ranch via State Highway 36 & 17 and Interstate 40 or 180 Miles via U.S. Highway 60 to Socorro and then Interstate 25. Both routes take less than 3 hours driving time to Albuquerque.
PHYSICAL FEATURES: The highest elevation is found at Cat Hill being 7,600 feet in the Northeastern portion of the Ranch and the lowest point along the Rito Creek being 6,900 feet. The terrain is open grasslands being almost level country to gently rolling-sloping grasslands with scattered Juniper /Pinon Pine Trees and with several steeper hills/peaks like Cat Hill. This terrain is typical of this region. The most unique feature is Rito Springs drainage where in the mist of a open gently sloping /rolling portion of the Ranch this relatively shallow canyon with fairly shear rock walls appears and numerous free-flowing springs appear and create a significant amount of water flow to where the dam is constructed and forms a beautiful lake. The developed farmland and the natural irrigated and sub-irrigated lands are found along the canyon bottomlands to the more level open areas. This fertile riparian or vega lands extend for over 4 miles along the Creek, which is located in the Southwestern portion of the Ranch.
Annual precipitation is about 10.5 inches. The growing season is recorded at 104 days.
Vegetion includes a extremely wide variety of nutritious grasses including: Blue Grama, Black Grama, Side-Oats Grama, Western Wheatgrass, Sacaton, New Mexico Feathergrass, etc..
Browse plants include all of the major and most desirable for cattle and wildlife including, Winter Fat, Fourwing Saltbush, Apache Plume, Chico Bush, and Mountain Maghoney. Trees include Pinon Pine and Juniper; these are found in scattered to fairly dense stands, which provide protection for cattle and also excellent habitat for wildlife. The combination of grasses, browses and trees are amenities not common on most ranches in the State and in my opinion relate to the reputation the region has for “big game” with many found in the record books and this same nutritional plant mixture also allows for good cattle production!
CATTLE OPERATION: The Rito Springs Ranch is currently operated as a year-long cow-calf ranch carrying 250-275 Animal Units. If desired a yearling cattle operation could be developed and would support one side of 750 head of yearlings depending on their in-weight and the length of the grazing term. The Steer calves consistently weigh 600 pounds in the Fall. Seasonal summer gains on yearlings can be in the 225 to 250 pound range. These estimates in numbers can be easily increased because of the productivity of the irrigated and sub-irrigated areas. Recently, some land has been laser-leveled and winter wheat has been planted. This type of crop when fertilized can produce substantial yields and the cattle can really benefit from this improved pasture. In my travels. I see some unbelievable numbers of Deer and Elk on these vegas and improved pastures and this is especially accurate for the “Rito Springs Ranch”.
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IMPROVEMENTS: The Ranch improvements compliment the cattle operation and include barbwire fences which create many pastures and traps, wells equipped with windmills, solar or electric pumps, small working corrals at strategic locations, shipping corrals with scales, barns and housing at two locations on the Ranch. The water ranges from 40 feet to about 200 feet and it is of good quality which is not always common for New Mexico. The housing is not fancy but considered functional for several families or guests. At one location is a historic Log dwelling that makes an ideal hunting cabin, adding a nostalgic atmosphere for guests.
WILDLIFE/HUNTING: This region is the home of many types of big game including Elk, Mule Deer and Antelope. Hunting is regulated in the entire State and the New Mexico Game and Fish Department issues the number and type of Elk and Antelope hunting licenses in each unit; this Ranch is in Game Management Unit 12. In Unit 12, the NMG&F allows the Rancher to specify the number and kind of Elk licenses they wish to receive. The Rito Springs Ranch last year received 6 Bull Elk licenses, 4 Cow Elk licenses and 2 Either Sex licenses for Elk. The Ranch has not been applying for Antelope hunts. The State does not regulate the number of Mule Deer hunters.
We believe the number of Elk licenses could be increased by grazing less cattle on the vega area or irrigated and sub-irrigated parts of the Ranch. This is based on the fact that Elk graze many of the same plants as cattle, so if one ran less cattle on the vegas there would be more forage for the Elk. Because there are few areas with the vegas or irrigated lands in this region of the State that produce the non-typical forage plants, the Elk like this variety of vegetation and thus this becomes a highly desired habitat and they are attracted to it.
Along with the big game hunting, the Lake draws waterfowl and provides private fishing for Bass, Blue Gill, Catfish and Yellow Perch. Good Dove hunting is present on many other portions of the Ranch and Duck hunting on the Lake.
OTHER LAND USES IN THE REGION: Because of the scenic nature of this region and the demand for small ranches commonly referred to as “ranchettes” there are a large number of ranches in West –Central New Mexico that have been purchased and subdivided into 5 to 160 acre parcels. These developments have raised the land values too exceed what ranches for grazing cattle can afford but not quite to the level of what hunting ranches command. The small percentage of deeded land in the region has also impacted this demand. Not many of people ever live on their small acreage but they have a “dream of owning Land in the West”. And the low down payment and monthly payment plans that the developers have available in order to make the sell, has for many decades intrigued buyers and many of these small acreage developments have made significant money for the developers and thus it has been a common practice for land use.
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PRICE & TERMS: X$ 9,985,000.00X RECENTLY REDUCED to $ 7,725,000.00 ! Terms are Cash and this offering is subject to the Seller doing a suitable 1031 Tax-Free Exchange.
SPECIAL REMARKS: In understanding and evaluating the “Rito Springs Ranch”
I believe it should be stressed that the “FREE-FLOWING WATER” is an amenity that should be highly respected! This water is not like other irrigation waters found in New Mexico:
- that is pumped (which is very expensive!) from depths that exceed 400
feet in many cases nor
- is it shared ( with controlled quantity and monitored delivery time!)
that is diverted from a river or major creek
-both come with related expenses of equipment, machinery and labor;
“ This water flows free, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with minimal expense”
Basically to Use at Your discretion - What’s that worth?
PROUDLY OFFERED BY:
TERRELL LAND & LIVESTOCK COMPANY
TYE C. TERRELL, QUALIFYING BROKER
P.O BOX 3188
LOS LUNAS, NM 87031
TELEPHONE: 575-447-6041
E-MAIL:
This property offering is subject to: price change, withdrawal from the market, errors, omissions and the exchange provision. All information is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed by the Owner or the Broker
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