Wylie Mountains Ranch

Encompassing nearly the entirety of a West Texas mountain range is the Wylie Mountains Ranch. The range, named after the pioneer settler Robert K. Wylie (1885), is rich with history and diverse in habitat. The ranch includes desert grasslands/brushlands on its outer portions with foothills, expansive canyons and mountains with numerous peaks over 5,000’ in the more central portions. The different ecosystems provide a home for a diverse array of wildlife as well as grazing opportunities for livestock. LOCATION The ranch is located southeast of Van Horn, TX and about 20 driving miles from the Culberson County Airport. Drive time to Marfa is an hour and about 20 minutes; El Paso is about 2 hours and Midland is about 2.5 hours. TOPOGRAPHY, RANGELAND & HABITAT The ranch encompasses nearly 100% of the Wylie Mountains with about 3/4 of the ranch being mountainous and some foothills with the remaining portions being in the “flats”. Elevations range from 3900’ to 5310’ above sea level. The ranch has rangeland/habitat areas exhibiting various Chihuahuan Desert ecosystems including desert scrublands, desert grasslands and desert mountains. Accenting the mountainous terrain are immense escarpments and spectacular canyons. Trees found on the ranch, predominantly in the canyons and drainages, include hackberry, evergreen sumac and flameleaf sumac along with other typical species of brush, succulents and grasses across the ranch. Another unique feature of the ranch is a large sinkhole or cave that begs further exploration. WILDLIFE Native Wildlife found on the ranch include mule deer, pronghorn antelope, scaled quail, Gambel’s Quail and the infrequently seen Montezuma Quail. Exotic wildlife found on the ranch include elk and aoudad. The property has been managed predominantly for wildlife with a limited feeding program and water distribution. AGRICULTURE The ranch has been used for livestock grazing in the past; however, at present the only cattle are some strays from a neighbor. IMPROVEMENTS Most of the improvements are located in the headquarters area on the northern portion of the ranch and about 3 miles in from the main gate. The owner’s home is a 3/2 metal sided residence with wrap around covered porch and carport in good condition. It is located on a hill just a short distance east of the operational headquarters. The manager’s home is an older modular 3/2 at the operational headquarters.The headquarters area also includes several barns/sheds, a shop, an equipment shed with a walk-in cooler, traps and working pens. There is another small barn and set of pens on the southern portion of the ranch (the Sloan pasture). WATER Groundwater is available in certain areas of the ranch from the West Texas Bolsons minor aquifer (we believe). There are 6 operating water wells. Most of the wells are about 700’ deep and the best ones are capable of producing 15-25 GPM providing adequate well water for ranching operations. There is an extensive distribution system to troughs and storage across many portions of the ranch. There are also numerous dirt tanks to capture and hold runoff for periods following a rain event. MINERALS Approximately 26,734+/- acres are mineral classified and the specific rights associated with state classified minerals will convey to the buyer. Seller will be reserving any fee minerals owned by the seller. ARCHEOLOGY Among other interesting things, the Wylie Mountains are home to a distinctive agate, referred to as butterscotch agate, that resembles butterscotch taffy and ranges in color from light brown and dark yellowish brown to moderate brown. OTHER In addition to the deeded acreage, the ranch also includes 1,109.5+/- acres of land leased from the Texas Pacific Land Trust. The white dashed line on our map indicates the general location of 470+/- acres of multiple smaller inholdings lacking accessibility. Please ask the listing Broker for more information.