When Ranching is for the Birds (and Fish and Elk): When Ranching is for the Birds (and Fish and Elk):

Ranchland Ownership Change in Greater YellowstoneRanchland Ownership Change in Greater Yellowstone

and Implications for Conservationand Implications for Conservation

Hannah GosnellDepartment of GeosciencesSustainable Rural Communities InitiativeOregon State University

2007 RVCC Annual Policy Meeting

Julia H. HaggertyHeadwaters Economics

William R. Travis University of Colorado

Ranchlands Research at CAW 2000-2005

Pilot study (2000Pilot study (2000--2001)2001)3 Rocky Mountain Counties in CO, WY, and MT 3 Rocky Mountain Counties in CO, WY, and MT In collaboration with TNC and AFTIn collaboration with TNC and AFT

GYE study (2001GYE study (2001--2003) 2003) 10 counties in WY and MT10 counties in WY and MTOwnership fragmentation; ranch sales; buyer typesOwnership fragmentation; ranch sales; buyer types

Mgmt practices of new vs. longtime owners (2003Mgmt practices of new vs. longtime owners (2003--2005)2005)Several ranch landscapes in MT, AZ, CASeveral ranch landscapes in MT, AZ, CASemiSemi--structured interviews with ranch ownersstructured interviews with ranch owners

Case Study Counties

Large Agricultural Ownership

Large Ranch Sales as Percentage of All Large RanchesGYE Ranchlands Study Counties, 1990-2001

45%

32%29% 28% 27%

24% 23%

14% 14% 13%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

SubletteLincoln

Fremont

Park, WY

BeaverheadSweet GrassPark, MTStillwaterCarbonMadison

% o

f Lar

ge A

g O

ps S

old

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

% o

f Acr

eage

in L

arge

Ag

Ops

Sol

d

% of Large Ag Ops Sold % of Acreage in Large Ops Sold

Working Typology - Large Agricultural Landowners

Traditional RancherTraditional Rancher

PartPart--time Rancher time Rancher

Amenity BuyerAmenity Buyer

InvestorInvestor

CorporationCorporation

DeveloperDeveloper

Conservation OrganizationConservation Organization

OtherOther

Amenity Buyer

• Purchases ranch for ambience, recreation, and other amenities, not primarily for ag production• Often absentee• Hires ranch manager to make day-to-day decisions and do majority of work• May lease land to neighboring rancher• Majority of income from off-ranch sources• Economic viability of ranch usually not an issue

Number of Ranch Sales to Different Buyer TypesGYE Ranchlands Study Counties, 1990-2001

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Num

ber o

f Sal

es

FremontSubletteSweet GrassPark, MTBeaverheadStillwaterLincolnPark, WYCarbonMadison

Amenity Buyer Traditional Rancher InvestorPart Time Rancher Developer UnknownOther Conservation Org Corporation

Amenity Buyers and Traditional Ranchers in the MarketPurchases as a percentage of all acres changing hands in large ranch sales

Amenity Buyers Traditional Ranchers

Park, MT 73% Fremont, WY 46%Madison, MT 64% Beaverhead, MT 41%Sublette, WY 62% Lincoln, WY 39%Park, WY 57% Stillwater, MT 38%Sweet Grass, MT 55% Carbon, MT 20%Beaverhead, MT 49% Sublette, WY 18%Lincoln, WY 34% Park, WY 14%Fremont, WY 14% Sweet Grass, MT 11%Carbon, MT 14% Park, MT 5%Stillwater, MT 11% Madison, MT <1%

A Biological Conservation Assessment for the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Noss et al 2001

Megasite Conservation Priorities: Irreplaceability and Vulnerability

Ownership Heterogeneity

(Dickinson 2007)

Conservation ImplicationsPotential Benefits:

Conservation easement opportunities

Agglomeration of parcels

Well-financed ranch operations

New leaders and ideas

Reduced pressure on public lands

Conservation ImplicationsChallenges:

Net loss of local knowledge

Unprecedented levels of absenteeism

Implications for public lands mgmt

Continued instability of ownership

New Ruralities? Contingencies:

Longtime owners’ openness to new ways

New owners’ interest in privacy vs. community

RANCH MANAGERS

An issue to rally around

Supportive laws institutions

www.centerwest.org/ranchlandsMajor funding provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

with additional support from Yellowstone Heritage and the Turner Foundation

gosnellh@geo.oregonstate.edu

Wood River Wetland, Root Ranch

“Multifunctional”Landscapes

Wolf-cattle coexistence experiment in the Madison Valley

Madison Valley Ranchlands GroupWildlife Working Group

A New Restoration Economy?A New Restoration Economy?Paying Landowners for Provision of Ecological Services (PES)Paying Landowners for Provision of Ecological Services (PES)

Klamath Basin Rangeland Trustranchers idling land for $ in theWood River Valley, OR

Summary and Implications• Ranch landscapes in the American West are

increasingly heterogeneous• New types of communities and ruralities are emerging• Geographies of conflict and cooperation• Agroecological partnerships seem to be contributing to

strong(er) multifunctional landscapes• Formation of agroecological alliances is contingent on

a number of factors• Need more research on contingencies, new

institutional arrangements, socioecological outcomes

Ag Land Sales and Ecosystem Values in Sublette County, WY

Acres in Large Agricultural OperationsGYE Ranchlands Study Counties, 2002

0

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

600,000

700,000

800,000

900,000

1,000,000

BeaverheadMadisonSweet GrassStillwaterPark, MTFremontPark, WYCarbonSubletteLincoln

Acr

es in

Lar

ge A

g O

pera

tions

75%

80%

85%

90%

95%

100%

% o

f Acr

es in

Lar

ge A

g O

ps

Acres in Large Ag Operations % of Ag Acres in Large Ag Ops