In the high heat of the desert east of Santa Fe, New Mexico, a broad tract of Rangeland carries a single address,

49 Zoro Ranch Road. Set near the small community of Stanley, long fences and a private gate shielded from curious travelers.

From the road, it seems to be a widespread complex, complete with a main house, outbuildings, and even a graded strip for small aircraft.

The site even includes its own hangar, as well as multiple residences littering the thousands

of acres the property claims under its territory. This footprint is massive by any measure,

with market details in 2023 listing approximately 7,500 acres being tied to the property. Some accounts press that number

up even higher, a staggering 10,000 acres. Around the private holdings, records show that the state

land office had for years leased additional state trust acres to this land via a company called

Cypress Inc, creating a quilted model of public and private ground

at the ranch's edges. In September 2019, Commissioner Stephanie Garcia-Richard announced the state's

cancellation of these so-called grazing leases to Cyprus, citing access obstruction and other grounds.

The interior read quieter than the map, a compound set against mesas

and open range. Zorrel Ranch was a place built for privacy, with its massive land and spread

out buildings and its private airstrip, which would allow visitors to come and go without having

to use the surrounding highways. Despite sitting out on the open, sunbaked desert of New Mexico,

this place, called Zororo Ranch, was a fortress.

Land agreements allowed the inner portions of the complex to become hermitages, and the fences and gates ensured that no interested onlookers could get too close.

It was 2019 when Commissioner Richard announced the grazing lease cancellations, the same year that Zoro Ranch's

owner was thrust into the final limelight of his life.

Disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein had called this mysterious range part-time home for years,

taking advantage of state grazing leases to keep a wide berth between him and all those who

might try to look in on his activities.

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