6,322 Acres of Rangeland and Wildlife Habitat Protected Forever!
Another beautiful piece of Texas is permanently protected. Rocosa Ridge Ranch in Bosque County is a 6,322-acre working cattle operation outside the county seat of Meridian. This is a special part of the state where the Cross Timbers and Blackland Prairie regions merge. The ranch’s abundant native grasslands, mix of hardwood and evergreen woodlands, and riparian corridors are valuable habitat for a diversity of wildlife and plant communities.
With easy access to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, the Waco/Temple/Killeen area, and even the greater Austin area, working lands in Central Texas are increasingly fragmented and sold into smaller tracts. The average ranch size in Bosque County is 480 acres, so we are excited to celebrate this exceptionally large and contiguous open space and its rural character that will be protected from fragmentation and development forever. Protected properties like Rocosa Ridge Ranch ensure that our state will continue to have scenic views and land that supports healthy ecosystems and our agricultural heritage.
Recognized for Restoration
Over the last two decades this property has been restored to its native beauty through extensive controlled burns and seeding for native plants. The ranch has been the recipient of many awards, including the Lone Star Land Steward Award (2010) by Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, the Outstanding Rangeland Stewardship Award (2013) by the Texas Section Society for Range Management and Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, and the Environmental Stewardship Award Program (2014) by Dow AgroSciences, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and the National Cattlemen’s Foundation. The current landowners continue to maintain and enhance the ecological and agricultural productivity of these lands through sustainable grazing and wildlife management.
History Captured on the Land
The ranch includes several historical buildings and features. The bunk house on the property was the headquarters used by cowboys who once worked the renowned 24,000-acre Powell Ranch, which was assembled in the early 1950's.
There is also a New England style barn, believed to have been built in 1889. It was fabricated of posts and beams fastened with wooden pegs. The three-story barn has the capacity to house 42 horses on the main floor. The hay loft is large enough to hold thirty tons of hay. The size and scope of this barn makes it truly one of a kind in the state of Texas. The barn has been recognized by the county as a historical marker and was completely refurbished at the end of 2016.
Further, James E. “Pa” and Miriam A. “Ma” Ferguson owned and used part of the property as their summer home from 1914 to 1940. The former governors of Texas' picnic site is designated as a Bosque County historical site and the original stone smoker, concrete benches, and piped water fountains still remain.
Public Benefit of Private Land Conservation
In addition to supporting the cattle operation, the grasslands and woodlands of Rocosa Ridge Ranch provide natural habitat for songbirds and game birds such as Bobwhite quail and wild turkey. The property is home to endangered golden-cheeked warblers and to black-capped vireos and a number of other species in decline. It is located within the Central Flyway, a route traveled annually by numerous species of waterfowl and other migratory birds.
The rain that falls on this property is polished as it flows towards the Bosque River to the west and into creeks that drain into Lake Whitney to the east. The grasslands improve water infiltration and slow runoff, purifying the water and air by reducing nutrient, pesticide and bacteria loading into our waterways. This property is part of the Brazos River watershed, which is a focus area for Texas Land Conservancy and important to communities downstream, including the people of Waco and Bryan/College Station, just to name a few.
Working lands like Rocosa Ridge Ranch can also support our growing population by sequestering carbon, in the form of roots and other plant tissues that use carbon dioxide from the air in their growth. Storing this organic matter in the soil will keep the carbon from re-entering the atmosphere as carbon dioxide or methane.
The property’s significant natural resources will be permanently protected from future development, benefitting all Texans, now and in the future.
We are extremely grateful to the landowners across the state who have made the commitment to permanently conserve their land. In addition, we’d like to thank our members and supporters – YOU make this important work possible!
