Accolades

2021 – Ute Creek Cattle Company is the first recipient of the New Mexico Leopold Conservation Award.

2019 – Received the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Environmental Stewardship Award Region VI.

2006 – Received the Excellence in Range Management Award from the Society for Range Management New Mexico Chapter.

2008 – At the annual conference Ute Creek Cattle Company received the Leadership in Ranching Award from the Quivira Coalition.

2008 – At the request of Courtney White, symptoms Founder and Executive Director of the Quivira Coalition, Ute Creek Cattle Company was the featured essay for the Quivira Journal’s “A View from the Field” section. The ranch story/operation also includes discussion about Harding County and its activities with Ogallala Commons, Harding County Economic and Community Development Corporation, and the grassroots Amigos Bravos organization. The story, entitled “Reflections on a Resilient Heritage Ranch” can be read on Quivira’s website at www.quiviracoalition.org .

2008 –  Tuda Libby Crews was awarded first place state-wide in the category of BIRDS from the New Mexico Garden Club, Inc. for her twenty-three acre wild bird sanctuary in Bueyeros. Now in its third year, the sanctuary features a drip system, perennial flowering plants, a wildlife water guzzler, trees, birdhouses, bird feeders, a grape arbor and berry producing bushes. For easy walking, a mowed path meanders through the sanctuary with contemplative areas for resting.

Crews’ dream became a reality through partnerships with the US Fish & Wildlife New Mexico Partners program, the Wild Turkey Federation and the NRCS. Future plans include signage identifying native short-grass prairie birds. An outdoor classroom is on the drawing board to expand educational opportunities in nature for school children and adults.