When a New Mexico hiker was ordered off public land adjacent to the late Jeffrey Epstein’s property in 2020 — as a ranch staff member pointed a rifle at him — he knew he had every right to be there.
The hiker, David Ryan, had a permit to hike on the state trust land in southern Santa Fe County and mapped out a route to avoid crossing private land. Still, Zorro Ranch staff insisted he was trespassing.
It was part of a pattern years in the making.
Public records show Epstein used New Mexico’s agricultural lease system to convert over 1,000 acres of state land into a private buffer for Zorro Ranch, his compound near Stanley, with minimal oversight and for minimal agricultural use, for nearly two decades. Epstein — no humble New Mexico rancher — and his staff seemed to value grazing largely in terms of its tax benefits. And at times, the ranch was out of compliance with state leasing requirements.
Livestock grazing did occur at Zorro Ranch, records show, but as an afterthought.
Epstein leased 1,244 acres of state trust land for livestock grazing; however, state inspectors over the years documented evidence of minimal grazing, and sometimes noted they were hindered from inspecting the land at all.
The previous property owners, the family of former Gov. Bruce King, had grazed around 300 head of cattle when they ran the ranch,according toan affidavit found in State Engineer’s Office files. Epstein, through subleases at various points after 2005, grazed dozens.
The fact grazing was minimal for a ranch of this size — 7,600 acres, not including the leases — was not a significant concern for the land office; state law doesn’t establish an explicit minimum number of cattle required on state trust land.
Epstein outside his Zorro Ranch barn with an unknown young woman or girl, in an undated U.S. Justice Department photo.
State land leases, priced below market value for private land, generate revenue for public schools and other public services. One of Epstein’s leases was surrounded entirely by his private property, and the other plot was directly northeast of his land. In the checkerboard-like setup of much of New Mexico land, in which private, state and federal lands are interspersed, Epstein took efforts to ensure his privacy.
