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Circle Ranch in West Texas

Experience From the High Deserts of Texas to the Rocky Mountain West.

For 20 years, our family owned and managed Circle Ranch, 32,000 acres of high desert located in the Sierra Diablo Mountains of far-West Texas. Our goal? Leaving the land more diverse, and therefore healthier, than we found it.

Our Philosophy

Wildlife and habitat only prosper when their ecosystem is in balance.

A pronghorn herd in desert grasslands of West Texas

Our Resources

The objective of biodiversity conservation is to maintain viable native animal and plant populations of all kind.

a native Elk roaming the desert grasslands of West Texas

Elk Removals Featured

Are Elk Native to Texas--Historical and Archaeological Evidence for the Natural Occurence of Elk in Texas

This paper began as an effort to persuade Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) to cease its efforts to eradicate elk on the state lands which it manages in far-West Texas. Our assumption was that TPWD was acting out of a sincere misunderstanding of science, which could be corrected.

They Released Hundreds of Bisons Into a Dying Forest and After 10 Years, Result Was Insane

They Released Hundreds of Bisons Into a Dying Forest and After 10 Years, Result Was Insane

Once nearly extinct, the European bison is making a powerful return to the wild.

Watch This Wolf Go Fishing

Watch This Wolf Go Fishing

Wolves are thought of as red-meat eaters, but a team of biologists in northern Minnesota, near Voyageurs National Park, has documented a pack that often enjoys a meal of fish.

Polar Bears Have Settled in An Abandoned Weather Station

Polar Bears Have Settled in An Abandoned Weather Station

Novosibirsk photographer Vadim Makhorov showed a family of polar bears who have taken over the houses of an abandoned weather station on Koluchin Island in the Chukchi Sea. The footage was captured using a drone, which the predators tried to catch with their paws and teeth.

The Hunt For Earth’s Most Mysterious Creatures Is Turning Up Extraordinary Results

The Hunt For Earth’s Most Mysterious Creatures Is Turning Up Extraordinary Results

Scientists are looking for the "dark matter" of the animal kingdom — and it's revealing how little we know about life on our planet.

Rangeland Restoration: Subsoil Contour Plowing at Circle Ranch, in far-West Texas

Rangeland Restoration: Subsoil Contour Plowing at Circle Ranch, in far-West Texas

Subsoil contour plowing is an excellent way to increase water absorption in the desert grasslands of far-West Texas and Southern New Mexico. The effectiveness of the practice is shown in these before-and-after comparisons. NOTE: this post was originally published to this site on October 9, 2017, and again on March

I Planted a Forest Four Years Ago

I Planted a Forest Four Years Ago

An excellent example of nature's resiliency.... From the videographer: FOREST UPDATE 2025: In 2021 I planted a tree a minute, for 24 hours, on my mates farm. It was freakin hard work, but also one of the coolest, most rewarding days I’ve ever had. I made a

Scientists Spent 6 Years Tracking Yellowstone's Great Bison Migration. What They Found is Remarkable

Yellowstone Bison

Scientists Spent 6 Years Tracking Yellowstone's Great Bison Migration. What They Found is Remarkable

New research from the US national park shows migrating bison enrich grasslands – boosting plant nutrition, soil health and biodiversity.

Navajo Nation Game Surveys

Navajo Nation Game Surveys

Flying Elk and Deer Surveys for the Navajo Nation 2016

10 Creepy, Abandoned Places Reclaimed by Nature

10 Creepy, Abandoned Places Reclaimed by Nature

Across the world, land that has been used and abandoned by humans is being recolonised by the plants and animals that were there in the first place. Cal Flyn highlights ten hotspots where wildlife is thriving among the ruins.

From Africa to Yellowstone: Tom Opre on Conservation Stories That Matter

From Africa to Yellowstone: Tom Opre on Conservation Stories That Matter

Leslie Heaney sits down with Tom Opre — filmmaker, storyteller, and founder of the Shepherds of Wildlife Society, a nonprofit dedicated to reconnecting people and wildlife through powerful documentary films.

A Measured View On Grizzlies, From The Ground

Wildlife Management

A Measured View On Grizzlies, From The Ground

It’s disheartening to see some groups continue using crisis-based narratives to maintain donor funding instead of engaging in balanced, science-based dialogue.

bison_yellowstone_park

"Invasion Biology"

Restoring Bison at the American Prairie Reserve

At the American Prairie Reserve in Northeastern Montana, the plan is to recreate the world’s largest bison herd.

Montana Fish & Wildlife Commission Approves Record High Wolf Kill Quota

killing of wolves

Montana Fish & Wildlife Commission Approves Record High Wolf Kill Quota

Regulations and increased bounties expected to decimate wolf population

New Nature Documentary is a Call to Action to Save Six Endangered Species

New Nature Documentary is a Call to Action to Save Six Endangered Species

Saving six of Earth’s most endangered species is the mission for a new nature programme. It is a heartwarming call to action, says Gregory Wakeman

New California Dam Removal Could Restore A River — And Destroy A Community

New California Dam Removal Could Restore A River — And Destroy A Community

Removing the Scott Dam, alongside the removal of the smaller Cape Horn Dam downstream, both on the picturesque Eel River, is part of PG&E’s plan to retire a century-old hydroelectric operation known as the Potter Valley Project, which the company says has gotten too expensive to run.