Jun 14, 2008 8:03 pm US/Mountain
Ranch Gives Up-Close Interaction With Bison
MOSCA, Colo. (CBS4) ―
Tucked into the area between the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the Great Sand Dunes is the Zapata Ranch. It is owned by the Nature Conservancy and offers visitors a chance to get up close with bison.
The ranch, formerly known as the Medano Zapata Ranch, is home to between 1,500 and 1,800 bison.
"They are run as natural as they can," guest activity coordinator Regin Fletcher said. "They are on 50,000 plus acres and they are free-roaming so they get to go where they want to go when they want to go there."
"We're a working guest ranch, so we offer everything from going out and taking in a day's work with the ranch crew to ... just going out for a ride through the bison to see where they are at and what they are doing."
The bison roam through an amazing landscape.
"It goes from sage brush and sand to meadows that are as lush as anything you could ask for in the world," Fletcher said. "It's got great grasses and is a wonderful place to have cattle and bison grazing."
For the ranch's owner, the visitors are key to its success.
"Public access is integral in The Nature Conservancy's view on getting people into the land and then they appreciate it. As people come and understand that this is out here, they can become partners with it."
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