turning land to forest

hello all,
i just bought a place in colorado that is in costilla county. it was bought sight unseen. (i live in Texas) i have now seen it over google earth and think there is a potential to start a forest permaculture plan. The land is baron and has 11.6 inches of water per year, 51 inches of snow and is a relatively flat area, it is 5 acres and has wild horses, and deer that pass through.  Does anyone here have any experience turning the baron land to forest. I think that putting up some swells and berms in place would be the first step. i feel if i can be successful in this endeavor it would start a chain reaction with the other properties around the area and once everyone saw the difference that permaculture can make in an area like this one it might help the area to start to realize the potential this area can have. The whole subdivision Rio Grade ranchos has been looked down upon since the 1970s and was called worthless property by the CDC. . so with all that said. Does anyone think this is a doable or feasible plan  

Exciting prospect Robert. I would encourage you to look at P.A.Yeoman's keyline models and Mark Sheppard's Water for Every Farm and Restoration Agriculture.

The general idea is tree/shrub lines just slightly off contour to keep water on the land as long as possible. Your schemes would probably also benefit from a little study of the historical ecology of the area so you can refine your species mix and maybe develop your plantings in line with the regions natural succession.

Keep us updated though, sounds like an exciting project

Hi Robert,

Probably the most important thing you can do at this point is to pay the property a serious visit.

Yes I am planning a visit out there and am doing research as we speak.

Hi Robert,

I would take many well labeled pictures.  It is amazing how our memory can play tricks on us.

Congratulations!! You are on an adventure now! It's a wild ride in my experience.
You said  "I think that putting up some swells and berms in place would be the first step." I would search The permis forum for keywords such as dry land, low rainfall, swales. A number of people have reported that in low rainfall areas swales do not revegetate well. I can tell you that in my 20 odd inch rainfall area in Western Oklahoma The swales that were put in 50 years ago have much shorter grasses and less ground cover then the rest of the terrace. Brad Lancaster has good books about water retention and use. I borrowed mine from the library.

Maybe check out the "Miyawaki method"?  If only for ideas.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akira_Miyawaki

Simon forman, very interesting, thank you for sharing.

Robert Ragland wrote:barren land[...]
wild horses, and deer that pass through

Usually earthworks are done first, however you
need to check how munch fence will your bugdet allow.

I guarantee you that everything you plant except maybe for the throniest stuff
will immediately get eaten up by the deer.