ZAPATA RANCH - A Working Cattle Ranch
The Zapata Ranch is owned by The Nature Conservancy and managed thru a one of a kind partnership with Duke and Janet Phillips, a third generation ranching family. The ranch is a 103,000 acre cattle, bison, and guest ranch located on the eastern wall of the San Luis Valley in Southern Colorado. It borders the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, the newest National Park in the Unites States. The high desert grasslands, alpine forests, wetlands, sand dunes, creeks, and lush meadows offer one of the most scenic and ecologically diverse landscapes to be found anywhere in the United States. The ranch and surrounding valley is a wildlife mecca with thousands of elk, bison, deer, coyotes, birds and many other animal species.
Land and Livestock Management
The Zapata ranch manages around 1,000 head of cattle seasonally and a herd of 2,000 bison. We supply meat for commercial markets as well as for grass fed/finished markets. Our ranch management philosophy combines old ways of living and ranching on the land wiith new and innovative ideas in conservation and land management. We strive to manage the land in a way that mimics natural grazing patterns that have existed for thousands of years in high desert grasslands.
Ranch Vacations
 The guest services arm of Zapata ranch offers an extensive program where guests can get an indepth and educational experience learning about ranching, horsemanship, and conservation practices, while also enjoying fine lodging and meals. Guests typically come to spend their days horseback; moving/working cattle, working on cattle handling and riding skills, and riding out to enjoy scenerey. Our Guests can also be integrated into the daily ranchwork for "hands on" learning about ranch life and management. This will include work that needs to be done on the ground and horseback. Guests also come for hiking, photography, bird and other wildlife watching, family reunions, and corporate retreats.
"We believe that ranching today must lead the way in the stewardship of our western lands and living old ways of life that preserve not only the land, but human values that should not change through time, such as family, an honest days work, and living in harmony with nature."
-Duke Phillips-
|
