Pitchstone Waters

Sign in Subscribe

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.

Gavin Newsom’s “Zone 0” Disaster: The Governor’s Latest Wildfire “Solution” Is a Deadly Farce

Wild Horse Fire Brigade

Gavin Newsom’s “Zone 0” Disaster: The Governor’s Latest Wildfire “Solution” Is a Deadly Farce

California Governor Gavin Newsom has just signed one of the most arrogant, ignorant, and outright dangerous executive orders in recent memory: the so-called “Zone 0” mandate.

Gulleys for Grassland Restoration #9: Harvesting Water in Steep Canyons

Gulleys for Grassland Restoration #9: Harvesting Water in Steep Canyons

Restoring the Southwest’s desert grasslands takes water. Most ranches treat eroding gulleys and roads – and their stormwater runoffs – as liabilities.

US Government Announces The Launch Of A New Pilot Program To Invest $700M To Support Regenerative Agriculture

US Government Announces The Launch Of A New Pilot Program To Invest $700M To Support Regenerative Agriculture

This is the fulfillment of a promise that we made in the MAHA Report... to give them an offramp, farmers who are dependent on chemical fertilizer inputs, to give them an offramp where they can transition to a model that emphasizes soil health."

Report On The Ineffectiveness Of Forest Wildfire Mitigation Measures: Insights From The Bootleg Fire And Scientific Principles

Wild Horse Fire Brigade

Report On The Ineffectiveness Of Forest Wildfire Mitigation Measures: Insights From The Bootleg Fire And Scientific Principles

If we truly want less wildfires and toxic smoke, we need to embrace the hard truths that are arguably being suppressed for the sake of wildfire profiteers

Gulleys for Grassland Restoration #5: Upper Pennel Canyon at Circle Ranch

"Invasion Biology"

Gulleys for Grassland Restoration #5: Upper Pennel Canyon at Circle Ranch

Using a mountain gulley for erosion control and desert grassland restoration.

Updated Report on the Escalating Human and Economic Toll of Wildfire Smoke in the Western United States

Wild Horse Fire Brigade

Updated Report on the Escalating Human and Economic Toll of Wildfire Smoke in the Western United States

The staggering death and financial tolls of catastrophic wildfires in the western United States is now at EPIC proportions!

This Beaver Dam is So Huge, You Can See It from Space

This Beaver Dam is So Huge, You Can See It from Space

In Canada, a beaver family has built a dam extending 850m – that’s more than twice as long as the Hoover Dam. It’s so big it can be seen from outer space.

The Shocking Solar Farm Bird Deaths the Mainstream Media Aren’t Telling You About

The Shocking Solar Farm Bird Deaths the Mainstream Media Aren’t Telling You About

Solar farms, coming soon to a field near you, are an ecological disaster turning productive land into a nature dead zone.

Texas Game Wardens Seize 18 Illegally Spearfished Black Bass at Lady Bird Lake

Wildlife & Hunting

Texas Game Wardens Seize 18 Illegally Spearfished Black Bass at Lady Bird Lake

One person was snorkeling and spearing the fish with a pneumatic speargun — which violates state fishing regulations

Gulleys for Grassland Restoration #8 - Using an Eroded Gulley to Recreate a Wet Meadow

Gulleys for Grassland Restoration #8 - Using an Eroded Gulley to Recreate a Wet Meadow

Like roads, wells and power lines, the irrigation system requires monitoring and maintenance, approached as just one of a body of holistic practices being applied together.

America’s Most Beloved Bear is Dead. Here’s Why Grizzly 399 Mattered

America’s Most Beloved Bear is Dead. Here’s Why Grizzly 399 Mattered

The oldest known grizzly mother in history, the 28-year-old bear was often photographed with her cubs in Grand Teton National Park before she was killed by a car in October 2024.

Why Are Wildlife Crossings Crucial For Animals And Humans Alike?

Wildlife Overpass

Why Are Wildlife Crossings Crucial For Animals And Humans Alike?

To create secure pathways for animals to move safely across the landscape, engineered structures and designated zones are constructed over and under roadways. These are wildlife crossings, and they reduce vehicle-animal collisions.

The Overlooked Danger That’s Massacring Wildlife

Wildlife & Hunting

The Overlooked Danger That’s Massacring Wildlife

Road ecology is bleeding into the public consciousness at a moment when we can still act on its lessons.

circle_ranch_west_texas_ranch_fall_sunset

Gulleys for Desert Grassland Restoration #2

Using a gulley to create a riparian meadow in the desert

These Rare Whales Had Never Been Seen Alive. Then A Team In Mexico Sighted 2

Wildlife & Hunting

These Rare Whales Had Never Been Seen Alive. Then A Team In Mexico Sighted 2

The search for a ginkgo-toothed beaked whale had taken five years, when a thieving albatross nearly ruined it all