El Rancho Mezquitosa

Mezquitosa ranch is mostly a flat valley  of sandy loam with some rocky hills in the northern part which is a part of the El Peyote sierra, with more than 15,000 combined acres of prime semi-desert brushland  habitat., located in a region, along the gas pipeline, well known for producing heavy antlered whitetails. A pipeline network which is fed with windmills (2) and solar pumps (2), runs through all corners of the property.

Rancho Manzanares

The soil in Manzanares ranch is mostly sandy-loam in the mesas and the valley , a pipeline network which is fed with windmills (6) and solar pumps, runs through the center part of the property.

TYPICAL VEGETATION
vegetation is typical of the Semdesert brushland of the golden triangle of South Texas and north México where plant species can be found such as: mesquite (Prosopis glandulos), Chaparro prieto (Acacia rigidula), hojasén (Flourensia cernuda), gobernadora (Larrea tridentate), cenizo (Leucophillum frutenscens), guajillo (Acacia berlanderi), paloverde/retama (Parkinsonia acueleata), nopal-prickly pear cactus (Opuntia engelmannii)), palma samandoca (Yucca carnerosana), Palma pita (Yucca filifera), Palmilla (Yucca thompsoniana), Albarda/ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens),  huisachillo (Desmantuus virgatus), and native grasses such as toboso (Hialria mutica), navajita/blue grama (boutloua gracillis), navajita belluda (bouteloua hirsute), etc.

The soil in many areas of these ranches have being abused by the hand of the humans and their cattle in the past, it has being the purpose of the present owner to reforest these areas with native perennial grasses and brush, levees were constructed to stop the runoff from the rain. This reforestation is a continuous work that is to be done year after year.

In addition to this work there is the maintenance of the water pipe lines, a 30  mile pipe network, solar water pumps (3) and windmills (8) that provide the fauna with the essential liquid. We have made sure that any animal in both ranches do not have to travel more than 500 meters to find a place –water piles- to drink it.

The present owner has been in the ranch business all his life, as manager of farm & Ranch operations, contractor provider of services, water pumping and irrigation, and farm business entrepreneur. Hunting has always filled a good part of his time. All this lifetime education coupled with his long association with land owners, as a proyect engineer, contractor or hunter, has given him an uncanny, extensive knowledge and love of wildlife and it relationship with the land.

The main objective of the present owner – an avid hunter himself- of both properties has being to return the habitat, were  possible, to a more productive wildlife-wise state, exotic animals such as cattle, sheep, goats have been banned on most parts of these properties, there are some parts that were cleared in the past and are established with buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris), it is on this areas that some cattle are pastured on good rainy years only.