Ute Creek Cattle Co. Receives Regional ESAP

New Mexico commercial Angus ranch recognized as regional environmental stewardship winner.

Ute Creek Cattle Co., Bueyeros, N.M., was selected as one of seven regional finalists of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Environmental Stewardship Award Program (ESAP). The award recognizes the operation’s outstanding stewardship and conservation efforts.

Tuda Libby Crews’ Caveza de Baca family has ranched in northeast New Mexico since the early 1800s, managing to keep the land in the family through hardships from drought, a failed economy, the Dust Bowl, World War II, inheritance taxes, grasshopper infestations and various other challenges.

In 2001 Tuda inherited one-fifth of the family ranch and established Ute Creek Cattle Co. The 14,000-acre ranch had four large pastures, four water sources, and suffered from overgrazing and neglect. Ten miles of Ute Creek was infested with mature, heavy-water-using salt cedar trees. Partnering with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Ute Creek Soil & Water Conservation District, Ute Creek was fenced off to aerially treat salt cedar.

“In the last 18 years,” said Tuda, “the riparian restoration on Ute Creek is the cornerstone of conservation achievement.”

Her husband, Jack, concludes nature has effectively responded as the stream subirrigates the riparian area to grow rushes, sedges and grass.

The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) created a water distribution system with two 10,000-gallon water storage tanks installed on the highest point of the ranch. More than 25 miles of 2-inch poly pipe distributes water over the ranch through gravity flow. Twenty-seven miles of permanent fence created 25 pastures for the adaptive grazing system. Even in drought years the time-managed grazing system responds to using cattle as a tool to maximize forage production and enhance healthy soil.

Tuda worked with the New Mexico Small Business Assistance Program and found polyurethane “shade balls,” a product that now covers nine stock tanks. On each 20-foot drinker covered with shade balls, evaporation is reduced by 91% and annually saves 16,000 gallons of underground water on each tank. Other water-conserving measures include xeriscape landscaping and roof water-catchment on buildings. As innovative “early adopters,” the Crews family is open-minded to new practices.

Jack is proud of the cow herd genetic program that has evolved into a high-quality herd of Angus cows that produce AngusLink^SM age- and source-verified, and nonhormone treated cattle (NHTC) certified calves.

In 2004 Tuda cost-shared with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service “New Mexico Partners Program” to establish a 23-acre wild bird sanctuary dedicated to short-grass prairie bird habitat. The bird sanctuary provides berry bushes, a small grape vineyard, water, breeding/nesting areas, bird houses and a few shade trees. Over the ranch the bird list has increased from 16 species to more than 100, including golden and bald eagles, great blue herons, hawks, songbirds and many others.

From left, Jack, Sadie Jo, Tuda and Ted Crews of Ute Creek Cattle Co. were honored as ESAP regional winners at the 2020 Cattle Industry Convention. [Photo courtesy Ute Creek Cattle Co.]

Their adult children (Libby and Ted) and grandchildren (Bella, Bennet and Seth) are not on the ranch. However, it is apparent the entire Crews family loves the ranch and feels a deep responsibility to keep the land in the family in honor of the generations who worked so hard to create the legacy.

“There is an Indian proverb that says we do not inherit the land … we borrow it from our children,” said Tuda. “We’ve done the best we could to leave it better than we found it, and I feel confident future generations shall carry on the heritage ranch operation.”

Established in 1991 by the NCBA to recognize outstanding land stewards in the cattle industry, ESAP is sponsored by Corteva Agriscience, McDonald’s, USDA NRCS, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Cattlemen’s Foundation (NCF).

“America’s cattle producers are the original stewards of the land. They rely on a healthy ecosystem, including land, air and water resources, for their livelihood; and they understand better than anyone the benefits of caring for those resources,” said NCBA Past President Jennifer Houston. “The lands we manage as farmers and ranchers are only entrusted to us for a short time, and farmers and ranchers across the nation are committed to passing those resources to the next generation in a manner which ensures their future success. This year’s ESAP nominees exemplify the greatness of our industry, and they share the common goal of bettering our industry through outstanding stewardship practices.”

Editor's note: This article is from NCBA.