Yellows Hills Ranch - Designing A Sustainable Community

The Yellow Hills Ranch consists of 4,743 acres located at: 3910 State Road 112, El Vado, New Mexico that is being developed into a sustainable ranch project. This page will provide further information about the project and the design process that is now underway. This land was purchased in May of 2006.

The Land

El Vado Lake Area: Location Map | Map Quest Map | Climate Data

Shadowed Pasture Sunset on Pasture Three Young Bucks Northern View
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The property consists of 4,743 acres of land (7.3 square miles), located at 7,200 to 7,450 foot elevation with rolling hills covered in juniper and pinion pine. A portion of the terrain is open and a portion is forested and it is located directly across the street from a 15,000 acre Wildlife Preserve managed by the New Mexico Fish and Game Department.

Yellow Hills Ranch is home to a varied wildlife population that includes elk, mountain lions, mule deer, bears, bald eagles, badgers, wild turkeys and more. The Chama River, designated as a Wild and Scenic River, flows inside El Vado State Park directly across the street from the combined property. The area is known for wildlife, world-class fly-fishing, white water rafting and other year-round activities.

Why a "Sustainable" Community?

Why engineer systems that rely on central power, food and energy distribution that are subject to disruption? It is possible to create an infrastructure that is distributed, focused on renewables and is local in character. This can be more economical and is not subject to remote risks. The nightly news casts are full of examples that demonstrate the weakness inherent in the conventional approach. Our priority is to shift our planning perspective in developing Yellow Hills Ranch.

We believe embracing sustainable practices can create quality living environments. Such practices also reduce friction with local planning authorities who have their own reasons to embrace them. They also create opportunities to make use of underutilized assets that have less value to others who don't know how to make them productive.

It is not our purpose here to have a full discussion of this subject, but here are some specific examples that reflect our thinking.

Energy: Why rely on an energy source that is far removed and subject to disruption at any point along a long line that reaches to your home? Instead, rely on local sources of power like biomass, solar, wind and other renewables that are locally available on your land or in your community and which are subject to your, or at least local, control.
Food: Why rely on food that is grown thousands of miles away which may not be available in the event of a transportation strike, a hurricane, or a political conflict? It is possible to rely, or at least fall back on, a home garden or a community agricultural system that is located on your land or down the street.
Waste: Why create sewage waste locally, mix it with fresh water and ship it to remote locations? This approach then collects runoff, agricultural waste and other pollutants which are processed in plants built at great cost to deal with the toxic results. Rather, convert blackwater or greywater waste into a benefit for the land at its source. Use surface "waste" water (runoff) to nourish land where the water falls at significantly reduced cost.

Why, you ask? Because it makes common sense!

Our working definition of "sustainable"...

A sustainable community is one where residents maintain their own growth, health and well being, and that of their environment, by employing practices in the areas of land use, agriculture, and resource development that foster independence. It is a place where residents and their environment operate as an integrated system with the goal of balancing consumption with the capacity to provide independently for ongoing needs. (© 2006 all rights reserved Randall Prouty)

Translating a Definition Into a Community Design

A successful community design includes many factors. There are questions of land use; a utility infrastructure to provide for power, water, sewer and roads, the very bones of the community; the manner in which buildings will be built and to what standard; the sourcing of raw materials; a practical financial system, first to finance and build the infrastructure and thereafter to provide a practical means of support for ongoing operations.

There are other important and often overlooked considerations. According to our definition, a community is an integrated physical and human system. This requires one to think about communications, education, human resource development, the esthetics and well being of the community environment and other factors.

For further information please go to our planning and design pages.

Golden Current: (ribes aureum)