SILVER BEAR RANCH WEBSITE: www.silverbearranchnm.com
THE CHALLENGE
Have you ever dreamed of experiencing the "western life" located in a beautiful mountain country setting? If your dream included riding your horse for hours exploring remote canyons and streams or simply sitting back on your porch listening to the rumble of a summer storm, you might want to talk with us.
In today's life, to be able to look out fifty miles from your porch and survey the 11,000 feet peaks of a national wilderness and not see a man-made structure in any direction is truly a rare blessing. This is waiting for you...
If you've spent any time looking for that perfect place that will allow you to enjoy the benefits of a ranch life without the requirement of living there full time, you'll agree that it is pretty hard to find!
Is the ranch convenient to get to? Is it close to airports? Is it acceptably close to a community with shopping? Is there water, power, and telephones? Is it protected from vandalism? How much personal time, money and effort will it take to get the place set up?
THE SOLUTION...
Amidst the unparalleled beauty of wondrous New Mexico high country, you can buy into the ranch ownership and own at least 240 acres(1/3 of a square mile) of deeded property at Silver Bear Ranch, a 7,000 acre working cattle ranch, and be one of eleven owners of the ranch in total (Greenwood Canyon Ranch Association).
Each owner will have a new ranch home constructed on his deeded property. The deeded parcels average 250 acres each. The ranch, located near Silver City, New Mexico, is at an elevation of 6,500'. There is the Headquarters for the ranch owner's use, and a full time cowboy to work for the Association and you.
View the recently completed Two Bears Ranch $2,099,500 and the Spotted Elk Ranch $2,399,500
It's not just a cabin in the woods or a piece of property, it is a complete working ranch available for you to enjoy and participate in at any level you desire.
You may fence up to forty acres around your home, if you desire, the rest of your land must remain open country for the exclusive use and enjoyment of you and the other association members. The approximate 3,000 acres of private land is surrounded by 4,000 acres of government land that is leased to the association to graze cattle. Most of the land surrounding the 7,000-acre ranch is public, including the 4-million acre Gila Wilderness on our north border.
Restrictions are in place that control what can be built, what it looks like and those restrictions allow for Association review of any changes to the land that may affect the appearance of the ranch as a whole. Each of the ranch houses will be nestled into sites which offer the least visual impact to the other property owners, but also offer the maximum view corridors. Each home will be architecturally unique, designed by one of the Southwest's top design firms. Large porches, rustic adobe, stone, heavy timber and other true application details will be the rule.
Imagine having coffee on your front porch on an early frosty morning watching the deer graze, or sitting around an outside fire-pit watching shooting stars in the crystal clear New Mexico night sky. Places like this really do exist...
THE HOMES
We are considering offering several ranch houses nestled into sites with the least visual impact to the other property owners, but with the maximum view corridors. Some locations on the Mesa look down on broad canyons with incredible rock formations worthy of National Geographic coverage. Each ranch house will be architecturally unique to the other properties and each will be completely furnished. We have retained a top Scottsdale design firm to design each of those properties with every detail and amenity possible to insure complete authenticity and charm. This firm's work has been singled out for publication in many national publications, including the highest honor from the National Home Builder's Association for a one-of-a-kind home over 6,500 square feet in the United States.
Cell phone service is available currently. Hard-wire service is under design with the local telephone supplier and will be available in the future. Electrical service from the grid is not available to the ranch, so we have installed state of the art solar electrical systems for the headquarters and the homes. These systems provide power for all electrical needs as if you were on the grid, except no power bills. There is no difference in the quality of power. We have installed up-link, down-link high-speed satelitte internet service at the headquarters for accessing the Internet, E-mail and satellite TV service. These services are available for each home. All homes will or have been wired for RG-6 cable for these desirable services.
THE PROPERTY
From the Headquarters you can ride on horseback for fifteen minutes to canyon streams that run year round, or you can ride for two days in one direction and not cross a road. This country is a bounty of interests. The Apache summered here. Much of the Western lore we read about and watched John Wayne reenact originated from this country. Billy the Kid started his career near here. The Spanish mined silver fifteen miles away four hundred years ago. Wildlife on the ranch abounds; deer, elk, bear, coyote, rabbit, javelina, turkey, humming birds, hawks, heck, we even saw an emu there one day, go figure.
As you drive over Bear Mountain Road from Silver City, New Mexico, you'll come around a bend on the 7,200-foot summit where the whole panorama of the LS Mesa and the Gila Wilderness opens before you. You feel your stress drift away and your breathing comes easier. You're overlooking the sanctuary.
In a few minutes, you arrive at the 7,000-acre ranch adjacent to the four million acre Gila Wilderness. The ranch is composed of approximately 3,000-acres of deeded property and 4,000-acres of State and BLM (Bureau of Land Management) lease land. To get some visual idea of the physical nature of the ranch and the immediate surrounding country, take a look at the photos on this web site, they are all taken from the mesa. But the photos can only give a hint of the vast beauty.
The deeded property includes 6,500-foot high mountain acreage covered in pine and juniper, an open savanna with juniper and oak, a boulder canyon with seasonal streams, a large deep canyon with a base elevation of 5,200'. The property is predominately buffered on all sides by federal or state land. It is at the end of a county dirt road, so there is restricted access for the property. It is absolutely private -- one of a kind.
When life in the Big City gets to be too much, you can pack up and head to salvation. It can be as relaxing as unwinding in a rocking chair with a good book and the backdrop of unspoiled nature. It can be as spontaneous as saddling up and just heading off in any direction, valley, mountain or mesa. Or it can be as vigorous as pitching in with the work of a working ranch; feeding the horses in the morning, fixing the old gate, moving the herd to the next pasture, checking the calves, or riding fence with Dusty.
THE LAND
Deeded Land:
3,000 acres divided into 11 parcels averaging 260 acres.
Leased Land:
4,000 acres of State and Federal land.
Location:
11 miles northwest of Silver City, New Mexico on Bear Mountain Road.
The Area:
Silver City is a community of approximately 15,000. It is located in the southwestern corner of the State about 40 miles north of Interstate 10. Silver City has two airports and is served by Mesa Airlines. Citylink Airlines also provides air service twice-a-day from Phoenix , Arizona. Western New Mexico University is located in town. The community has recently enjoyed several articles in national publications including a multi page story published by the New York Times last year talking about Silver City, the new Santa Fe. The Town has been named "The Most Livable City" two years in a row. Grant County Chamber of Commerce can be reached at (505) 538-3785. Summer temperatures are cool to moderate, winter temperatures are moderate. There is periodic snow in the winter.
The Deed Restrictions:
To protect the property for posterity, each deed contains restrictions, which are recorded in the CC&R's, which provide, for example:
A. Each parcel has a minimum of 240 acres (with one exception of 216 acres. No parcel shall be subdivided, ever.
B. Each property owner will belong to the ranch association, which controls community matters such as improvements, expenses and compliance.
C. A design committee comprised of property owners shall review all facilities built on the ranch prior to construction. Those facilities shall be designed in an architectural style compatible with its Southwestern/New Mexico surroundings. The buildings shall be designed with materials and finishes that offer the least visual impact to the rest of the ranch. Each structure will be site built (absolutely no mobile homes or manufactured housing or out buildings).
D. Each property owner may fence up to forty acres around the home site, but the rest of the property shall remain unfenced to keep the open nature of the land intact. (The thinking on this fencing issue is simple. So many times folks will take property like this that is expansive and accessible and subdivide it, fence it off, and forever destroy the beautiful open nature of the land they originally found. We want this property to be enjoyed and easily accessible by all of the owners).
THE HEADQUARTERS
Construction of the "Headquarters", which, we are sure, will be of great utility and joy to the property owners is now complete. Built in an old western wood and adobe style, it serves a number of functions. It has a large common area for the owners to meet and socialize that includes antique furnishings, a high-beam ceiling livingroom with a stone fireplace and southern pine floors, dining area, complete old-time kitchen, game room with a beautiful pool table and powder room. Up stairs there is a private bedroom, bathroom and huge furnished bunkroom for extra space requirements of the owners when needed. There is a complete working shop for the use of the owners and a lockable tack room for horse equipment. Additionally, the apartment for the ranch foreman is attached and has a private entrance.
The design includes a large covered front porch with rocking chairs and benches for whittling or sitting to watch those summer storms. Outside there is a fire pit for those wonderful nights with friends. And, of course, horseshoes and bar-b-que. In short, this building will provide shared special use needs for the property owners (thus avoiding multiple building of such facilities by all the owners), plus it serves as a community place to meet and enjoy each other's company.
RANCH MANAGER
Housed in the Headquarters, the ranch manager will serve at the pleasure of the property owners. He is your guy. He will act as a security person for the ranch and homes. He will take care of the needs of the livestock and general maintenance of the ranch at large. He could work with your horses. He could open and close your cabin and if you sent him a list of groceries, your kitchen will be stocked before you arrive.
AVAILABLE HOME SITES
Look Out Point - $900,000 (240 acres)
White Rocks - $900,000 (240 acres)
Secret Mesa - $915,000 (244 acres)
Blue Skies - $945,000 (322 acres)