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Ranchlands Today
In the Unknown Certainty of Tomorrow It is November 1999. I am standing in the Chico Basin ranch corrals, watching […]
Rodents on the Range: The North American Porcupine
It is winter on the Chico Basin Ranch. Winter is the best time to find porcupines as the trees have […]
Horses and Helicopters
There’s definitely certain situations where the helicopter shines. But cutting pairs, sorting cattle, you can’t do that in a helicopter or a bike, that’s a horse job. The interesting thing...
The History of Zapata Ranch
Archaeological investigations have documented that the San Luis Valley was utilized by various Native American cultures for thousands of years. The earliest time period, the Paleo-Indian stage (approximately 11,500 B.P....
Never Not Birding
Are birds the most sung-about members of the animal kingdom? Based on the breadth and depth of our bird-inspired playlist, […]
The Life of a Ranch Horse: Caguama
The Spanish word for loggerhead sea turtle–caguama–is also Mexican slang for a 32 ounce bottle of beer, the connection being, presumably, that the further down the bottle one drinks, the...
Celebrating Thanksgiving at the End of an Uncertain Year
This year holidays may be taking a different form than usual, so we asked some of our ranch staff how they would be spending Thanksgiving this year and have compiled...
Chico Basin Ranch Calendar Overview
Stays at Chico Basin Ranch are a full immersion into life on our 87,000 acre working cattle ranch. Here’s a […]
Water is King
Water is the most crucial tool in establishing a regenerative, rotational grazing operation on a large scale.
Simulating Miles of Wear for Continual Development
In permaculture it is taught that borders have the most biodiversity, i.e. the edge of a pond, meadow, or any biome. The success of each environment depends on the other....
A Timeless Pursuit
A lone hunter weaves his way through the sagebrush islands pockmarking the sand of the San Luis Valley. He left at daybreak, just as he has on countless autumn mornings...
Our 16 All-Time Favorite Bison Works Photos
Bison Works, which takes place annually at the Medano-Zapata Ranch, is a photographer’s dream. Running bison kicking up clouds of dust, early fall light, and the chance to get up...
From Locals, for Locals
For six years, Nick Chambers, aka Chef Funghi, has managed Valley Roots Food Hub, a distributor of locally grown produce located in Mosca, Colorado. Besides supplying truly local produce to...
Pam Houston on Writing and the Natural World
Next fall Zapata Ranch will be hosting a writing workshop with award-winning American author Pam Houston.
Birding at the Chico with David Tønnessen
David Tønnessen has already made quite a name for himself in the Colorado birding community. He recorded the first sighting of a tropical king bird in the state of Colorado...
Wildness Incarnate
“The Crane is wildness incarnate. High horns, low horns, silence, and finally a pandemonium of trumpets, rattles, croaks… a new day has begun on the crane marsh. A sense of...
A Timeless Trade
Ranching is a trade that is deeply rooted in history and tradition as well as being on the forefront of progress and innovation. It is a trade that can be...
From Open Range to Zapatas Table
Feeding hungry guests after a long day of ranch work is no small task, but Chase Kelley is no stranger […]
Smoking Ques and How Tos
Welcome to your new favorite introduction piece on the oh-so delicious thing that we call barbecue! I’m going to walk you through some dos and don’ts when it comes to...