Location
The Quebec Ranch is located 25 miles west of Marfa, Texas, south of State Highway 90 near the 505 Valentine cutoff to the Davis Mountains. This ranch is equally accessible to Ft. Davis and Marfa.
Acreage
12,500 acres in Presidio County.
Description
The Quebec Ranch is Texas cow country at its finest and represents some of the best Yucca Grasslands in the United States. It is part of the Marfa Plateau, a mile-high desert grassland of basin range topography between the Davis Mountains to the north and the Chinati/Sierra Viejas Mountains and Rio Grande River on the south and southwest. The views are stunning and the ranch overlooks the landscapes of the Davis Mountains, Chinati Mountains, Sierra Viejas Mountains, Capote Mountain and the great expanse of grasslands in between.
Quebec Ranch is a working cattle ranch which has been well managed by the same family for over five ...
Quebec Ranch is a working cattle ranch which has been well managed by the same family for over five and a half decades. The northern portion of the ranch is wide open gramma and tobosa country where the headquarters can be seen for miles near the northern entrance. Ryan Draw, a tributary of Wild Horse Draw, meanders through this wide open grassland portion of the ranch creating a collection point for grassland runoff during the summer monsoons capturing water into several large dirt tanks. As you move south and up slope suddenly you encounter lush blue and sideoats gramma meadows with scattered forests of Yucca up to the high rocky hills on the ranch that add to the diversity of this amazing place. The highest peak, Dear Peak, with its surrounding slopes and adjacent hills, creates the topography that many ranches in the Marfa Grasslands lack. The hills, the rolling grasslands, and the wide open pastures bring together the unique elements of the far west Texas region.
Habitat
The landscape varies from wide-open flats to rolling grassland to a series of high hills surrounded by rugged, blue mountain ranges which can be seen from most places throughout the property. Classic Cattle Country of the Old West, the Marfa Plateau has maintained much of the environment and appearance of times past. This vast ranch lies in an elevation range between 4,375 and 4,775 feet, allowing for a mix of vegetation from the mid-high Chihuahuan Desert such as Spanish dagger, yucca, sotol, and cholla with a dominant grassland of blue grama, sideoats grama, black grama, tobosa, bear grass, and cane bluestem with areas of scattered mesquite brush. Ryan Flat noted on the Topo map is a broad open grassland on the ranch and is a mix of grama grasses and expansive tabosa flats. The high hills have shoulders of Yucca Grasslands and rock outcrops on the western faces. The west side of the ranch has a mesquite brushland that is some of the best deer and quail habitat.
Wildlife
This property, as part of the Marfa Plateau, is home to many species of birds, raptors, songbirds, and upland game birds including Mourning Dove and Blue(Scaled) Quail as well as larger wildlife of the open prairie such as Pronghorn Antelope, and Desert Mule Deer. The grasses and brush provide excellent habitat for these game and non-game animals. This is Chihuahuan Desert Grasslands at its best and a bird hunters dream.
Improvements
The Headquarters is an older frame house and outbuildings that is ready for the next owner to build what they need under the distant backdrop of Mt. Livermore and Sawtooth Mountain.
Fencing is in good working order as this is an operating ranch. Stocking rates are based on forage availability from annual rainfall which in an average year might be 15 AUY per section.
Water
The Marfa plateau has excellent groundwater known as the West Texas Bolsons and the Ryan Aquifer segment provides an abundance of groundwater for livestock and wildlife. The ranch has 4 wells with a well designed pipeline and water storage/trough system that distributes water throughout the ranch. Water is stored at several steel tanks located on elevated sites in the hills providing easy gravity flow to numerous water troughs. There are also several large
dirt tanks scattered throughout the ranch that with summer rains provides additional water and habitat.
Price Reduction
$8,562,500 or $685 per acre