New Mexico's game agency has purchased a 1,100-acre ranch in southwestern New Mexico that includes a two-mile stretch of the Mimbres River.
The Game and Fish Department said it paid $585,000 for the River Ranch, which is about 20 miles northeast of Deming.
Part of the financing came from a program allowing people to donate some of their tax refunds to protect habitat and help wildlife. Some money also came from an environmental settlement fund.
The ranch will be a wildlife management area in which the department determines what hunting, fishing, recreational or educational activities will be allowed.
New Mexico Land Conservancy Executive Director Scott Wilber said state ownership of the ranch will help prevent development from encroaching on the nearby City of Rocks State Park.
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