Ute Creek Cattle Company of Bueyeros has been selected as the recipient of the inaugural New Mexico Leopold Conservation Award. Tuda Libby Crews and her husband Jack revitalized their ranchland in Harding County by removing invasive species and adopting a rest/rotation grazing system for their beef cattle. The Crews will be presented with the $10,000 award at the Quivira Coalition’s Regenerate 2021 event in Albuquerque, November 3-4.

The Leopold Conservation Award is given to farmers, ranchers, and forestland owners across the U.S. in honor of renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold. In his influential 1949 book, A Sand County Almanac, Leopold called for an ethical relationship between people and the land they own and manage.

The New Mexico Leopold Conservation Award is made possible through the generous support of American Farmland Trust, Sand County Foundation, New Mexico Association of Conservation Districts, Quivira Coalition, New Mexico Coalition to Enhance Working Lands, Dixon Water Foundation, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Services of New Mexico, Tri-State Generation & Transmission Association, John Duncan and Anita Sarafa, and Holistic Management International.

Given in honor of renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold, the prestigious award recognizes farmers, ranchers, and forestland owners who inspire others with their dedication to land, water, and wildlife habitat management on private, working lands.