Welcome! Blue Mountain Peak Ranch is located in Mason, Texas near the center of the state. It is in Texas
Hill Country and Blue Mountain Peak is the highest land (2,135' above sea level) in Mason County. It is 830+ acres, about
1 1/4 square miles. It is run by owner, Richard Taylor, it was purchased it in 2001 by Richard and Sally Taylor (now deceased)
and placed into Wildlife Management. We were Co-Founders of The Conservation Agency (see Link below)
and follow their philosophy.
This designation allows us to keep Agricultural Land designation and tax status but provides for programs, working
with Texas Parks and Wildlife field biologists, to improve the habitat for wildlife. Work began to improve
the ranch in 2002 by cutting, mostly by hand, and using Prescription Burns to burn the brush and fields to restore them
to what they were in the mid-1800's.
This area was sculpted by fire (every 3-5 years) and migrating herds of buffalo(some, as large as 50 square
miles) for thousands of years. It was mostly in grasslands with few trees until the mid-1850's when European
Immigrants arrived, the Buffalo were killed and the wildfires stopped.
Ashe Juniper (the locals call it Cedar) which was native, but mostly confined by fire to deep ravines,
has exploded across the landscape dramatically changing the eco-system, putting stress on the native species and stopping
and absorbing the normal 26" of rainfall from getting into the aquifer. It is estimated that the work done so far
has put an additional 100 to 300 million gallons of water into the aquifer in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007!
We were educated and I continue to be educated and helped by Keith Blair of My Red Buffalo
(see link below) and cut and "Prescription Burned" more than 800 acres. The results in flora and
fauna improvement are remarkable. Springs, small creeks and waterfalls are showing up in many places. As a result, the
improvement in viewing wildlife is dramatic.
The deer population has increased in health and so as to make for excellent hunting. The deer population id
kept in balance with their food supply. The ranch has a policy to hunt and trap feral hogs, as they are very destructive
to the eco-system. Fire ants are controlled organically so the ground birds and animals are doing much better. NO OTHER
SPECIES ARE ALLOWED TO BE KILLED. No, not even rattlesnakes or scorpions!
On this site you'll find additional information about the Ranch, Hunting, and ways to experience and enjoy Nature
at Blue Mountain Peak Ranch.
