Imagine you have a property that spans over half a million acres. Then you choose to leave it in its natural glory, restore the bison population and several other species, and pour billions into conservation. Then you say, “Hey, people deserve the chance to come experience the surreal wildlife out here and bask in the positivity of a sustainable ecosystem”; then you take it a step further and say “why not make it a luxury experience where every dime goes back into the conservation?” Well, that’s exactly what Ted Turner did!

Before I left to be a guest at Vermejo, my burning question was, “It can’t be easy. How do they make it work?” So I asked the staff to tell me about the property, how the hospitality ties into the conservation and vice versa, the countless challenges they face and finally, the successes they’ve had. The attention to detail is what makes this ecotourism operation successful—from calculating how often to change sheets and wash towels, providing refillable water bottles, having a greenhouse to supply the kitchen, purchasing exclusively local produce, to using an irrigation system that cycles water back into the ground and much more, the team at Vermejo has thought about it all.

Come explore the great outdoors, enjoy the sustainable luxury hospitality, and learn about the challenges and successes at Vermejo with me!

Editor’s Note: This series was made possible with the generous support of Turner Reserves and contributions by the Turner family. All editorial content is published independently. 

Planet Forward’s Environmental Media Lab led this expedition to teach the power of visual storytelling in wild spaces to convey the beauty and bounty of our planet.