ROOSEVELT COUNTY, N.M. — When most people think of ranch managers, they picture someone whose life revolves around cattle. Willard Heck took a different path. More than 30 years ago, after spending much of his career working in falcon recovery and restoration, Heck followed renowned conservationist Jim Weaver to eastern New Mexico . Today, he helps manage approximately 35,000 acres of grass — a mix of rangeland, wildlife habitat, and state trust land — near the Texas border.
And despite overseeing what many would consider a large ranching operation, Heck says cattle are not the most important resource on the property.
“We’re firm believers that your resource is your land, not your cows,” Heck said. “The cows are simply a tool you use to manage the land.”
That philosophy recently led Heck and his partners to restore a playa located on state-leased land in Roosevelt County. Playas — shallow wetlands scattered across the Southern High Plains — capture rainfall, provide wildlife habitat, improve water quality, and help recharge groundwater. While many appear dry for much of the year, their ecological importance extends far beyond the water they temporarily hold.
The playa on Weaver Ranch had been altered decades ago when a pit was excavated in the center, a common practice once used to provide livestock with longer-lasting water supplies.
“At the time, people thought they were improving the playa,” Heck said. “What we know now is that those alterations changed how these wetlands naturally function.”
Working with Playa Lakes Joint Venture, Roosevelt Soil & Water Conservation District and the New Mexico State Land Office, the pit was filled and the altered area reshaped, helping return the wetland to a more natural condition. For Heck, restoring the playa wasn’t about solving a problem overnight. It was about making the landscape function a little better than it did before.
“That’s just what we do,” Heck said. “We’re always trying to improve something, whether it’s habitat, grasslands, wetlands, or wildlife.”
The project itself was relatively straightforward. The paperwork, however, took considerably longer. Because the playa sits on state trust land, the project required permits, archaeological surveys, agency approvals, and coordination among multiple partners before any dirt could be moved.
“The biggest obstacle is usually the bureaucracy,” Heck said. “The actual restoration work is the easy part.”
Still, Heck says the process went smoothly thanks to support from conservation partners who helped navigate the approvals and logistics.
“It shows that these projects can be done,” he said. “If you have people who understand the process and can help guide landowners through it, it makes a huge difference.”
“Our goal is to have the land be as natural and functional as we can make it.”
The restoration also reflects a much larger conservation effort taking place across the ranch. While many neighboring landscapes have been converted to cropland over the decades, Weaver Ranch remains one of the largest intact grassland areas in the region and serves as important habitat for Lesser Prairie-Chickens. From the air, the contrast is striking.
“Three miles east of us, across the Texas line, it’s mostly crop circles,” Heck said. “There isn’t much habitat left. So this property is important.”
Years of drought have only reinforced the need for healthy, functioning landscapes. Across eastern New Mexico, declining groundwater supplies and increasing pressure on water resources have become growing concerns. Heck has watched the region change dramatically during his three decades on the ranch.
“We’ve been dry for a long time,” he said. “When rain does come, you want these systems functioning the way they’re supposed to.”
While one restored playa will not solve the region’s water challenges, Heck believes every project contributes to a healthier landscape.
“Our goal is to have the land be as natural and functional as we can make it,” he said.
For him, that’s reason enough.
“Would this one project change the world? Probably not,” Heck said. “But if we can improve a piece of ground and leave it better than we found it, that’s worth doing.”
Learn more about Willard’s story. Hear him talk about a different type of ranching.