The bison bulls crowd close to our white pickup truck as it rolls down a dirt track, wooly heads still heavy with their winter coats, beards waggling. Deep brown eyes track us as we inch forward through the short-grass prairie at the southern end of Vermejo, the 558,000-acre Ted Turner Reserve that stretches from Cimarron, New Mexico, to the Colorado border. Down the track, bison cows and yearlings bound over bleached grass and prairie dog mounds, with the blue Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the distance.
This is the Castle Rock herd, the pride of Vermejo. These massive ruminants are the genetic descendants of four of the six “foundation” herds from which all North American bison descend. Kept separate from other herds to maintain their lineage and unique genetics, these 1,400 bison have the run of Vermejo, says my guide Mason Moir, from the prairie to the alpine tundra, migrating as the seasons change just as their ancestors did. In turn, they act as a keystone species in Vermejo’s regenerative grazing and overall rewilding, a project the late Ted Turner pursued when he acquired the ranch in 1996.
Turner, the media mogul turned active conservationist, died May 6, 2026, at the age of 87, leaving behind a legacy of 15 properties across the American West, Georgia, and Florida. Vermejo and an as-yet-undetermined number of Turner’s other properties will become part of a nonprofit institute that will posthumously carry on his rewilding work and expand it.
Over the last 30 years, a circle of conservation-focused millionaires and billionaires—including former Patagonia CEO Kris Tompkins in South America, former tech entrepreneur Greg Carr in Mozambique, Scottish philanthropist and conservationist Paul Lister in Scotland, and Turner—have embarked on some of the most ambitious rewilding projects on the planet. Their focus and funding power, combined with scientific oversight and long-term management, has led to successful species and land restoration. Kris and Doug Tompkins have spent an estimated $300 million and 25 years purchasing and restoring two million acres in Argentina and Chile, while Turner bought a million acres just in New Mexico. The Turner Endangered Species Fund nonprofit is reported to spend $500,000 to $600,00 a year on rewilding initiatives on Turner properties. “Multiply that by five or 10 others and you get to very big numbers quickly,” says Mark Burget, vice president of strategic initiatives at Re:Wild, an environmental nonprofit and NGO that supports conservation initiatives.
For the first time in decades, jaguar cubs were born in the vast Iberá wetlands in northeastern Argentina thanks to the work of Tompkins Conservation; in Mozambique, a rare subspecies of zebra was reintroduced into Gorongosa National Park; and North American bison are once again shaping the landscapes of New Mexico and Montana on Ted Turner Reserves.
The maturation of these major rewilding projects and their tangible results are coinciding with a growing appetite for remote, nature-driven tourism. A 2024 McKinsey report notes increasing demand among UHNW travelers for experiences available “nowhere else,” which is what these privately restored landscapes and wildlife provide. New parks, lodges, and camps in these vast reserves offer tailored luxury and access to ecosystems that were once off-limits or incredibly degraded. In turn, tourism dollars help actively fund the restoration of ecosystems and support local economies.
For many of the stewards behind these efforts, inviting guests is essential, not just financially, but to create the connection between the guest and the wild that is the key to impact. “Our guiding philosophy—and this came from Ted—is connecting people to nature,” says Jade McBride, president of Ted Turner Reserves. “Ted wanted us and the ones we love to connect and protect the other species we share the planet with.” In other words, it’s a restoration of the earth that is tangible, that you can step into, touch, fall in love with, and eventually, want to help.
Here at Vermejo, on a windy March morning, I’m actively trying not to step into the dinner-plate-sized buffalo chips that the Castle Rock herd left behind the previous autumn. I cross a wide bowl of a field to the gray, eroded stone pillar from which the herd gets its name and scramble to the top, with help from naturalist and guide Brian Palmer, who has spent 30 years working at Vermejo. He pulls out a scope to show me two pronghorn antelope, then three more, and then suddenly the whole herd is sprinting through the grass. The prairie dog sentries are on high alert, watching our every move, while mountain bluebirds dip on the wing. Each of these species, including the native grasses that end up as bison pies, represent a triumph of rewilding.
When Turner acquired Vermejo Park Ranch, he pulled up miles of barbed-wire fence, removed the cattle, and began an ambitious top-to-tail restoration project that also included his three other New Mexican ranches. The ranch’s historic Casa Grande, the newer 10-room Turner House, and smaller guest cottages are all at Vermejo’s Headquarters, along with the main lodge and restaurant, set in a broad valley. Headquarters is the jumping-off point for many of the ranch activities: self-guided hikes, bike and trail rides, guide-led alpine lake fishing, clay shooting, and the wildlife safari and bison expedition. The full-time and seasonal staff all share a passion for the land and love to share their deep knowledge of the ranch’s history, from its cattle ranch and mining days to its varied terrain, whose peaks reach 10,000 feet, and the painstaking rewilding taking place across all 550,000 acres.
There are currently 21 active conservation projects at Vermejo, run by dedicated wildlife biologists, foresters, and other specialists. Everything matters, from cutting down one pine tree species to allow another to flourish to restoring top-of-the-food chain predators like the Mexican gray wolf. Exclusion zones were fenced off along sections of the Vermejo River to keep the hoofed mammals and grazers out, allowing willow and cottonwood to grow along the banks, which prevents erosion and cools the water, and restoring the ecosystem. In a true “if you build it, they will come” moment, wild beavers moved into Vermejo on their own and built dams on the river, flooding sections of the basin in a natural cycle.
What Turner and the rewilding class have in common is their ability to act on the landscape. For example, in 60 miles of Vermejo’s upper tributaries and streams, Turner, as the landowner, was able to remove all the non-native fish species, allowing the native cutthroat trout population to rebound. It’s the largest inland trout restoration in the country.
Re:Wild’s Burget says the philanthropists get meaning from piecing back together the web of life: land, water, species—including humans. “I’ve worked with the wealthiest people in the world,” says Burget. “Their work with nature is the most meaningful they’ve done in their lives. To actively support or return species that are almost gone—you can’t get closer to ‘creation’ than that.”
In a time when the federal government is undermining the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 and reversing course on bison grazing permits and cyanide bombs on public lands, these privately funded endeavors feel worthy, even necessary. “These science and research projects [at Vermejo] are decades old,” says McBride. “There’s no government or university doing a 30-year cutthroat trout or forest restoration project like this. We think we know something in year three but in year six, we find something new, and in year nine, we realize we were wrong.”
This longevity of research attracts partnerships with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish and U.S. Fish and Wildlife, as well as numerous research projects with universities like Oklahoma State and University of Nebraska. Now as the Turner nonprofit institute takes shape, McBride says guests will have an opportunity to muck in and help. One project is range monitoring: on the bison expedition, guests will use a frame to measure and record how much grama grass (native, drought-tolerant, and a bison favorite) and other forage is inside. This helps the bison team understand how many animals the land can support. Another hands-on measuring activity will be helping take the daily temperature of the Vermejo River to better understand conditions for the trout and other wildlife.
“Their work with nature is the most meaningful they’ve done in their lives. To actively support or return species that are almost gone—you can’t get closer to ‘creation’ than that.”
—Mark Burget, VP of strategic initiatives at Re:Wild
From Castle Rock, Palmer and I climb back into one of the ranch’s UTVs and ascend toward State Line Peak. The 7,500-foot elevation made my morning hike a fun challenge for my sea-level lungs, but now we ascend 3,000 feet higher to the ranch’s seasonal Costilla Lodge that sits above the Costilla Vega, a lush alpine meadow. White-trunked aspen line the road and around a bend, four elk bucks shoot across the road and stop to let us admire them. It’s antler shedding season and one lopsided buck has lost just a single antler; it’s a goofy look. Around another turn, a large white coyote appears from behind a hill, then lopes into the woods. We stop at a pristine alpine lake where rainbow trout swim right up to the bank in the crystal clear water. In just a few hours on this American-style safari, I’ve seen dozens of birds and animals, prey and predators.
Back at Headquarters, I watch the river wind through the valley in front of the lodge patio as I sip on an expertly made gin and tonic and the sun slips behind a western peak. Two mule deer step through the gaps in the fence for an evening munch, and the only sound is the wind. Vermejo is a rewilded landscape, a ranch experience, and a remote paradise in the American West.
How remote? It’s a four-hour drive from the Denver or Albuquerque airport and 45 minutes from the closest town, so far from any light pollution, the full moon keeps me awake through the drapes. Bringing in more guests to enjoy this solitude is how rewilded places like Vermejo will survive and thrive—using the levers of capitalism, the ones that endowed the land stewards with the ability to protect nature in the first place. (For example, Ted Turner Reserves still licenses pre-existing natural gas drills to operate on Vermejo as a mutually beneficial arrangement.) But it’s not solely about revenue. Each and every rewilder is passionate about making people connect and care, and they believe that the only way to protect ourselves is to protect everything that is wild.
“Ted created an eternal perspective among his organizations. The land has to sustain itself, and people have to be part of the equation,” says McBride. “It’s a long-term commitment to the whole system, including us.”
Vermejo’s low season rates start at $1,600 per room (single or double occupancy) for Turner House and Casa Grande. Includes meals, snacks, non-alcoholic drinks, and two half-day guided activities per person, per full day. Costilla Lodge serves 14 guests; there are 90 guests max at Headquarters and Bernal Lake Cabin.
3 More Places to Vacation With Purpose
Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique
Greg Carr and his Carr Foundation signed a 20-year lease in 2008 to manage Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique, now extended to 2041. Carr is proud of the work they have done to rewild the landscape after it was decimated by civil war, overgrazing, and overuse. After reintroducing leopards, painted wolves, hyenas, and the bulk of grazing antelope, zebra, wildebeest, and buffalo, his top priority is the people who live here. “When we think in biological time and geological time, we make different and better decisions for the long-term health of the planet and its people and its wildlife,” says Carr. “But conservationists need to pay more attention to the human beings that share the landscapes. Human well-being and nature well-being are integrated.”
Where to stay: Gorongosa Safaris‘ Muzimu Lodge, Chicari Camp, and the new Expedition Camp, a private mobile fly camp with six guest max and a walking-level guide (limited to five expeditions in 2026).
Patagonia and the Iberá Wetlands
In the 1990s, Kris Tompkins, the former CEO of Patagonia, and her husband Doug, the co-founder of North Face and Esprit, purchased large tracts of land in Chile and Argentina that they conserved and rewilded, bringing back species like the tiny Darwin’s frog, which spends its lifetime in two square meters, and the jaguar, which roams for hundreds of miles. Eventually they gave two million acres of land to Chile and Argentina, leading to the creation of 13 national parks. “We all share the responsibility of bringing back species on these lands whose numbers are low or who have actually gone locally extinct,” says Kris Tompkins about her fellow rewilding philanthropists. “We help to build regenerative economies related to wildlife watching so locals will also thrive along wildlife. Perhaps that will be our most impactful legacy: reconnecting people with nature. Because they are always the first and last line in its defense.”
Where to stay: Explora Patagonia National Park Lodge, Patagonia National Park; Lodge Caleta Gonzal, Pumalín Douglas Tompkins National Park; Rincon del Socorro Lodge, Ibera National Park.
Alladale Wilderness Reserve, Scotland
Paul Lister bought 23,000 acres in the Scottish Highlands in 2003 with plans to bring back the country’s apex predator: the Eurasian gray wolf. While there are still no wolves in Scotland, Alladale is a safe haven for the endangered red squirrel, and Lister has planted more than one million trees and culled the deer to bring back the prehistoric terrain. While there is no “landscape of fear” as Lister calls it—no one eats anyone—there is a campaign to bring back the lynx. “I want guests to know more about Scottish history than just whisky and golf,” says Lister. “To become more conscious of the landscape and realize that’s not how it used to appear and to know what a wild landscape looks like. Tourism is a vital component. It’s important to share the work with as many people as you can. I want people to witness it.”
Where to stay: Alladale Lodge (14 guests); Eagle’s Crag (8 guests); Ghillie’s Rest (4 guests).