By Melissa J White, Media Manager and Bob Jacobs, Associate Broker, Santa Fe Realty Partners
The Pecos River runs through the Kilmer Ranch in New Mexico.
You have no doubt heard the term “West of the Pecos” as a way to describe the wild and unknown lands that explorers had yet to tame. But the Pecos River that begins in the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in New Mexico still has the wild spirit, pristine environment and stunning landscape of a hundred or more years ago.
The Pecos River flows for over 900 miles through the eastern portion of New Mexico before it empties out into the Rio Grande in neighboring Texas. It has been designated a National Wild and Scenic River for 20.5 miles between its headwaters and the town of Terrerro, NM.
Originally used as both hunting grounds and then dry land farming by the Anasazi, the Pecos River valley is a friendly farming and ranching community located 22 miles west of Santa Fe.
Part of the Los Trigos Land Grant of 1814, the Kilmer Ranch is located 8 miles from the town of Pecos and consists of 5,328 deeded acres with approximately 6 miles of the Pecos River running and jumping through it. For over a decade, the actor and ranch owner, Val Kilmer, has carefully restored the former cattle ranch to its native splendor.
Within a valley receiving more and more development pressure, the Kilmer Ranch has conserved the wildlife corridors, diverse ecosystem, and the last pristine river in the American Southwest. Located in a thoroughfare for migration and representative of a dynamic habitat for a wide variety of species, the Kilmer Ranch has been committed to keeping the ecology of the area intact thorough educated management practices.
The wildlife varieties on the Pecos River Ranch are extensive and abundant. The mammalian species include the American elk and mule deer, mountain lion, coyote, bobcat, gray fox, raccoon, ringtail, striped skunk and long-tailed weasel. Other small animals include beaver, muskrat, cottontail rabbit, black-tailed jackrabbit, porcupine, chipmunk and pocket gopher. Raptors include the bald eagle, golden eagle, osprey, peregrine falcon, prairie falcon, red-tailed hawk, Swainson’s hawk, ferruginous hawk, rough-legged hawk, sharp-shinned hawk, merlin, American kestrel, great horned owl, saw-whet owl, pigmy owl, long eared owl, western screech-owl and turkey vulture. The upland birds and waterfowl include: merriam’s turkey, mourning dove, white winged dove, American coot, Canada goose, mallard duck, American pintail duck, green-winged teal, blue-winged teal and great blue heron. Non-song birds include the greater roadrunner, common raven, American crow, hairy woodpecker, northern flicker, red naped sapsucker, kingfisher, magpie, Clark’s nutcracker, pinion jay, Steller’s jay, scrub jay, common nighthawk, lesser nighthawk and loggerhead shrike.
Trails emanate from within the Pecos Wilderness which allow an explorer to travel the ridge of the Rockies all the way to Colorado and points even further north. Hundreds of visitors from around the world visit this pristine wilderness every year to experience the physical beauty of the southern tip of the Rocky Mountains.
The Pecos River is an excellent fishery, offering something for every angler, from the novice to the veteran. The Pecos River boasts 4 types of trout: Brown, Rainbow, Cut Throat and the Cutbow.
With so few private lands remaining, the Ranch exemplifies environmental stewardship as a wilderness and wildlife preserve, and as a place for the Pecos River to continue to run wild.
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Visit www.KilmerPecosRanch.com for more information.
Exclusively represented by:
Darlene Streit 505.920.8001 dstreit@dstreit.com
Bob Jacobs 505.470.8929 bjacobs@sfrp.com
Pam Sawyer 505.690.9058 pamsawyer@gmail.com
