NEA Big Read - Vermejo, a Ted Turner Reserve: Celebrate America250 Castle Rock Bison Tour

Vermejo, A Ted Turner Reserve

Celebrate America250: Castle Rock Bison Tour

(Limited to 20 Participants per Tour)

Saturday, June 20th
09:00 AM - 03:00 PM

Time: 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Departure Location: Arthur Johnson Memorial Library (Raton, NM)

Check-in: 8:30 – 8:50 AM (Bus departs promptly at 9:00 AM)

Experience One of New Mexico’s Hidden Treasures

Step beyond the gates and discover Vermejo, A Ted Turner Reserve—a breathtaking 558,000-acre conservation landscape just outside Raton that few locals have had the opportunity to explore.

This exclusive, guided driving tour offers a rare chance to experience a place often seen as out of reach—but in reality, one of the most important and inspiring examples of land restoration and wildlife conservation in America today.

What You’ll Experience 🦬

• A guided tour through Vermejo’s stunning landscapes

• Up-close viewing of the Castle Rock bison herd

• Sightings of elk, deer, pronghorn, and other wildlife

• Insight into large-scale ecosystem restoration and land stewardship

• Stories of how conservation is reshaping the modern American West

A Special America250 Experience 🇺🇸

As part of the NEA Big Read & America250 celebration, this tour connects directly to this year’s featured book, Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law, exploring the complex relationship between humans and wildlife.

Participants will experience real-world examples of coexistence, where thoughtful conservation and responsible land management are creating balance between people and the natural world.

This is more than a tour—it’s an opportunity to reflect on how wildlife has shaped American history and how we can all play a role in protecting it for future generations.

What’s Included

✔ Guided tour at Vermejo
✔ Round-trip transportation from Raton
✔ Picnic lunch
✔ Educational interpretation and discussion

Important Details

• Only 20 seats available per tour – advance registration required

• You must register through Humanitix to attend

• Bus departs promptly at 9:00 AM — late arrivals cannot be accommodated

• Need help registering? Contact: ann@bettercity.us

Community Spirit

If you’ve had the opportunity to visit Vermejo before, we encourage you to consider leaving space for a young person or someone experiencing it for the first time. This is a rare and meaningful experience we hope to share widely across our community.

Be Inspired

From vast grasslands to roaming bison, Vermejo represents what’s possible when conservation, science, and vision come together. Join us for a day of discovery, reflection, and connection to the land we call home.

Reserve your seat today — this experience will fill quickly.

About Fuzz

What’s to be done about a jaywalking moose? A bear caught breaking and entering? A murderous tree?

In Fuzz, New York Times bestselling author Mary Roach dives into the surprisingly complex world of human-wildlife conflict. Blending humor, science, and fascinating history, Roach explores how communities navigate encounters with bears, mountain lions, elephants, and more. Three hundred years ago, animals were assigned legal representation and put on trial. Today, the answers lie not in the courtroom but in science — at the crossroads of wildlife biology and human behavior.

For mountain and mesa communities like ours in northern New Mexico, where encounters with wildlife are part of daily life, Fuzz offers a timely, humorous, and insightful lens into coexistence.

NEA Big Read Activities

From March through June, the NEA Big Read will bring together local artists, educators, scientists, and community partners for reading discussions, creative writing workshops, arts and media projects, nature tours, and public forums designed to spark curiosity and conversation.

The program will culminate on June 27, 2026, with a public film screening and panel discussion at the Shuler Theater, showcasing community-created work and highlighting the power of literature, creativity, and dialogue in deepening our understanding of nature — and our place within it.

✨ Come be part of a community-wide exploration of storytelling, science, and coexistence.