2,798 Acres of Recreational Land for Sale in Chama, New Mexico

Approximately 30 miles south of Pagosa Springs , Colorado's World Famous Hot Springs and G5 capable airport, the +/- 2800 deeded acres of Wild Elk Ranch, Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, are what dreams are made of! This incredibly coveted holding borders the +/-11,000 acres of the "once in a lifetime draw" Bill Humphries State Wildlife Management Area and was highly sought after by the state of NM Fish & Game Department prior to current owner.

Land

Averaging a little over +/-1 mile wide and +/-5 miles deep, the elevation is a very gentle 7600' to 8800', capable of accommodating a 12-year old grandson/granddaughter's first elk hunt to a 90-year old's last.... If water is the gold standard today, then Wild Elk Ranch is Fort Knox! Imagine Aspen stands framing a spring-fed, year-round creek, smothered in elk wallows, gently stepping down to majestic Ponderosa pine-crested ridges, Gambel's oak pockets, some larger than a foot in diameter, stepping down to native grass meadows, the perfect blend of cover and edge for today's trophy mule deer & elk hunter. Numerous ponds and waterholes (3 improved) including one of the only year-round, free-flowing artesian wells, supports water as the best feature on Wild Elk Ranch.

This ranch was targeted by New Mexico Fish and Game, as their radio tracking telemetry research supported this exact ranch as one of the best densities and habitat for both elk and mule deer and obviously would have made a great addition to the bordering Bill Humphries State Wildlife Management Area, an area that is so coveted that it only allows for a once in a lifetime draw..... Being in the mid-elevations of 7600'-8800', with nearby mountain ranges of 10,000' to 12,000', the ranch carries an incredible resident population of elk and mule deer and continues to fill up more and more as the snow begins to coat the higher ups.

Improvements

With views overlooking the Continental Divide of the beautiful San Juan Mountains of Southern Colorado, yet with New Mexico quality big game landowner tags, low taxes, no timber wolves, grizzly bears, and too far south to experience winter kill, Wild Elk Ranch has just about no equal. The owners spared no expense placing their headquarters with the very best views, yet unparalleled privacy from the world, strategically not impacting the hunting. There's underground power and an incredibly abundant well yet you're less than a 1/3 mile to paved, year-round access to the Highway 84 entrance gate. No ranch is complete without an equipment shed so how about a 45' x 150' insulated equipment shop with full poured pad to accommodate toys such as side-by-sides, snowmobiles, ATV's and is even capable of supporting up to large bull dozers. $500,000 was spent just on concrete on the property. For accommodations there's a custom +/6000 sq. ft. 5 bedroom, 4 bath lodge that is approximately 50% complete at this writing, fully engineered and blueprinted, ready for your completion!

Recreation

20 landowner elk tags annually!

With one of the highest density of tags per acre (1 elk tag per +/-133 acres), the state verifies the game that is available on Wild Elk Ranch. Currently the state awards 9 mature bull elk rifle tags, 5 either sex archery tags and 6 cow elk tags, weapon of choice. No county in North America, including Mexico and Canada, has produced more Boone & Crocket Mule Deer entries since 1960 than Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. Mule deer landowner tags are 100% for landowners who have their applications in by deadline. Black Bear and mountain lions are over-the-counter until quota's are filled and the ranch carries a nice population of Merriam's turkeys to complete that grand slam...

With 9 tower blinds and 7 wildlife feeders (negotiable) and 4 fenced food plots, Wild Elk Ranch is managed to maximize the incredible residential elk & mule deer herds as well as take advantage of the thousands of elk and deer that transition to the ranch when the snows start to hit the mountain ranges above the ranch. If water is considered today's gold standard, then Wild Elk Ranch is Ft Knox! Blessed with incredible year round ponds & waterholes, from the top aspen lined elk ponds to a free flowing artesian well feeding a series of ponds down below, will Wild Elk Ranch be your wildlife legacy for generations to come?

Within 70 minutes you can be at Navajo Dam for trout fishing and within 90 minutes you can fish the quality waters of the San Juan, said to be the best trophy trout fishing in the western US averaging +/- 30,000 trout per mile. Definitely a day to remember!

Water/Mineral Rights & Natural Resources

50% of owned mineral right will convey at closing.

History

Conservation Easement Candidate For some ranch owners in higher tax brackets, a conservation easement enrollment has certain tax deduction benefits that could be of significant value . Traditionally there is a 30-35% off set of appraisal value that can be deducted from ordinary income, should one enroll a qualified property. In the case of Wild Elk Ranch, due to its incredible game holding habitat, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has enrolled an adjacent property at 50% and is projecting that should Wild Elk Ranch be enrolled, the deduction would be close to that as well. Almost unheard of.

Location

Wild Elk Ranch is 35 minutes to Pagosa Springs, 1 hour to Wolf Creek Pass Ski & Snowboard Mountain (which averages the most snow in Colorado), 90 minutes to Durango, 2.5 hours to Santa Fe and 3 hours to Albuquerque. With over 3 million first-time hunters hitting the woods since Covid and over 100,000 MORE applicants for Colorado and New Mexico big game tags this year vs. last year, is it time for you to reward yourself with a lifetime legacy family ranch?

For more information and a qualified showing, call today.

Co brokers welcome!