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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.

Conservation Isn’t a Land Use — It’s a Responsibility

Conservation Isn’t a Land Use — It’s a Responsibility

Conservation isn’t a use. It’s a responsibility—the ongoing act of caring for land so that it continues to provide for both people and wildlife.

Sandhill Cranes talking near Cascade, Idaho.

Sandhill Cranes Talking Near Cascade Idaho

This group of Sandhill Cranes were vocalizing in a meadow near Cascade Reservoir in Idaho.

Big Five—Revisiting a Legend: Bill Negley

Big Five—Revisiting a Legend: Bill Negley

Bill’s interest in bowhunting began in the 1950s as a result of a rifle safari in Africa during which fifteen rounds of ammunition left him with fourteen dead antelope of various species and one dead lion, an experience he described as “unfair to the animals and unrewarding to me.”

San Antonio Company is Fighting Climate Change 1 Acre of Cattle Grazing Land at a Time

San Antonio Company is Fighting Climate Change 1 Acre of Cattle Grazing Land at a Time

Grassroots Carbon eyeing 'huge growth' selling carbon credits by partnering with ranchers on regenerative practices

See How This Wolf Steals Fish, A New Discovery Of Animals Using Tools

Animal Intelligence

See How This Wolf Steals Fish, A New Discovery Of Animals Using Tools

Video of a wolf hauling a crab trap out of the water and then raiding its bait has sparked a debate over whether this is the first evidence of tool use in wild canids, or just clever puzzle-solving.

How Passive Rainwater Management Can Support Residential Water Needs

How Passive Rainwater Management Can Support Residential Water Needs

Turning streets into streams...

Vast Swaths of BLM Rangelands Don’t Meet Health Standards, Millions of Acres Remain Unassessed

Bureau of Land Management

Vast Swaths of BLM Rangelands Don’t Meet Health Standards, Millions of Acres Remain Unassessed

Declining rangeland health is almost always blamed on too many cattle.

Evolutionary biologist Sean B Carroll

"Invasion Biology"

The Rules that Govern Life on Earth - with Sean B Carroll

Evolutionary biologist Sean B Carroll reveals how a few simple rules govern all life on earth, from the cells in our bodies to populations of animals on the Serengeti.

New_Mexico_Bighorn_Sheep

"Invasion Biology"

A Symbol of the Range Returns Home

Thanks to their hardiness, bighorn sheep have long been a symbolic species. Circle Ranch has a growing, healthy herd of desert bighorn.

Why Do Wolves Have an Extensive History of Being Misunderstood?

wolves in Europe

Why Do Wolves Have an Extensive History of Being Misunderstood?

This video below is from "The American West with Dan Flores - Episode 14 "By A Grizzly Bear"

Gulleys for Grassland Restoration #3

Gulleys for Grassland Restoration #3

Eroded galleys can be used to restore desertifying grasslands – alongside creosote bush – without chemicals.

Verify the Science - Federal Agencies Often Try to Make Policy Based on Flawed Science—Call Them On It

Verify the Science - Federal Agencies Often Try to Make Policy Based on Flawed Science—Call Them On It

For those of us fighting for private property rights against agencies like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) over endangered species, the ability to provide and demand credible science has become a game-changer.

Why Are Buffalo Returning to Texas After 136 Years?

Why Are Buffalo Returning to Texas After 136 Years?

The near extinction of buffalo across North America had devastating consequences—especially for Indigenous communities, for whom buffalo were a source of food, shelter, spiritual connection, and governance.

Drought Busters 101

"Invasion Biology"

Drought Busters 101

“Drought Busters” is an inexpensive, quick, physiologically and economically sustainable method of habitat and wildlife restoration.

The Slaughter of Elk at Yellowstone National Park

The Slaughter of Elk at Yellowstone National Park

Today, visitors to Yellowstone regularly observe bison, elk, deer, bears, and perhaps wolves, but this was not foreordained.

The Long-Term Plan for American Ranchers

cattle ranchers

The Long-Term Plan for American Ranchers

"The President hears them, he has to address both of these problems—for the ranchers, but also for the American consumer. He promised to lower costs, and that's what he's committed to doing."