7, 3 7 1 ± A C R E S • WA T R O U S & VA L M O R A , N E W M E X I C O
BLACK WILLOW RANCH WITH PLENTIFUL LIVE WATER, ABUNDANT WILDLIFE, UNSURPASSED PRODUCTIVITY, AND VISTAS THAT SHOWCASE NEW MEXICO'S HIGH-DESERT BEAUTY, THE BLACK WILLOW RANCH BECKONS PIONEERING VISIONARIES JUST AS IT DID IN 1862 WHEN ENOCH TIPTON STAKED HIS CLAIM. — For more than 150 years, each succeeding landowner has burnished the rare jewel, enhancing its natural features and its infrastructure. Today, the 7,371± acre ranch, located in Mora County just 16 miles from Las Vegas, New Mexico, is one of the finest ranches in the Land of Enchantment. The diverse, mid-sized ranch is surrounded by large ranches, ranging from 40,000 acres to 90,000 acres, stewarded by conscientious managers who are also good neighbors. Black Willow Ranch is—and will remain—cowboy country.
LAND & WATER The Sangre de Cristo Mountains rise on the horizon, forming the ranch’s ruggedly beautiful backdrop. The elevation of 6,000–7,000 feet ensures a temperate climate year-round and perfect weather to explore the bottomlands, fields, foothills and canyons that define the landscape. The Mora River meanders through the ranch for about four miles, providing private access to both banks. The banks are stabilized with the namesake willows and 150-year-old cottonwoods as well as cool-season grasses such as orchard, broom and Timothy. Reclamation work and riparian fencing protect the water quality, which, thanks to 1,000 acre-feet of senior water rights, is used to irrigate about 330 acres of meadows and pastures for wildlife, cattle and horses. The irrigated land produces grazing, hay and food plots for elk and deer. In dry country, water means life. Both livestock and wildlife benefit from the extensive water distribution system that includes gravity flood, gated pipe, custom check gate, pipeline systems, the historic 3.6-mile Tipton irrigation ditch and 20 dirt tanks. Tipton Creek also courses through the ranch. More than 5,000 acres of upland pastures feature high-protein grasses including black grama, bluestem and Buffalo grass, mainstays of productive, native shortgrass prairies. As the elevation rises, the grassland transitions to stands of juniper, Ponderosa pines and piñon pines that provide shelter for wildlife and stunning seasonal color. Miles of all-weather roads and three bridges rated at 70-tons cross the Mora River, making the headquarters and all corners of the ranch easily accessible year-round.
