A.T. and Cinda Cole

Silver City, NM

Grant SWCD

A.T. and Cinda Cole retired to the Pitchfork Ranch in 2004 from Casa Grande, AZ where they lived for 33 years – A.T. as a lawyer and Cinda as a teacher. Other than financial contributions and volunteer work for the Sierra Club, they did little in the way of conservation until moving to the ranch. There they have installed over 1,000 grade controls, propagated more than 1,000 new trees, and generally improved the land, including one of the few remaining ciénagas (a wetland system unique to the Southwest).

The Coles have removed the cattle from the north portion of the ranch where the permanent water (ciénagas) lies and fenced off another two miles of the Burrow Ciénaga’s ephemeral flow. This 11,000-acre property formally carried 150 cow/calf pairs, now reduced to 10 Charolais (white coated cattle which run 15 degrees cooler than dark coated).

Partnering with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and other agencies the Coles are participating in a Dung beetle project and have been involved in the CSP program along with 17 grants to subsidize much of the restoration.

They have seen astonishing changes in riparian habitat. The Coles take photographs of the same location, on or near the same day every year to see the changes in the land over time as a result of their efforts. Another part of their experience has been giving presentations that highlight their work, climate change, and related issues.

The Coles feel that the world will soon experience the overwhelming impacts of climate change and species extinction if adjustments are not made. Their 17-year-long restoration effort began with an emphasis on ciénaga/habit repair and providing a secure and healthy place for at-risk species, but the scope broadened with recognition of natural climate solutions that can achieve global climate goals. The Coles believe the ranch can serve as a platform for what everyone can do to solve this crisis, in terms of:

1. Restoration of land
2. Soil use
3. Personal consumption and lifestyle
4. Outreach and spreading awareness

The Coles believe that habitat restoration and biodiversity conservation are not only critical for addressing climate change and species extinction, but also to repair the barriers and ecological filters that protect humans from disease transmission from wildlife. Through their restoration efforts, the Coles look to lead by example in rebuilding the fractured relationship humans have with nature.

The Cole’s showcase the landscape and their restoration work through the video “Habitat Restoration on the Pitchfork Ranch.”

Updated August 2022