Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty.” So exclaimed Theodore Roosevelt in a speech in 1910. The same ideal must be a mantra for Elk Foundation lands programs managers as they sweat through complicated land deals, like, for instance, helping protect Roosevelt’s Elkhorn Ranch in North Dakota.
A No-Brainer
The Elk Foundation’s reputation for untangling tricky land deals moved landowners the Eberts family (Allan and Jennifer, Dennis and Jeanette, and Ken and Norma), the U.S. Forest Service, the Boone and Crockett Club and other partners to ask for help with protecting the 5,150-acre ranch. The Elk Foundation knew it would be complex, but whether to help or not was a no-brainer. Roosevelt’s legacy is ingrained in the soul of the Elk Foundation’s mission, and the ranch is key habitat for more than 100 elk, as well as mountain lions, white-tailed and mule deer, wild turkeys and sharp-tailed grouse.
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Lowell Baier, executive vice president of the Boone and Crockett Club, said he first contacted the Elk Foundation’s acting vice president of lands and conservation, Grant Parker.
“I caught him on his way to leave for vacation, but Grant leapt right on it and brought the paperwork with him. By the time he returned, it was all ready to go,” Baier says. “It was just heroic.”
No-Net-Gain
As is typical in land deals, there was more than one fly in the honey before the project could be declared a success. North Dakota has a no-net-gain policy for acres of public land, regardless of whether it becomes state or federal property. Since the project aimed to make the Elkhorn Ranch part of the Little Missouri National Grasslands, questions were raised about how it would meet the no-net-gain requirement.
The Forest Service looked at its land holdings and identified scattered parcels of federal land that offered less critical wildlife habitat, which it now plans to sell to compensate for the acquisition.
Partners Secure Funding
Mark Rey, U.S. Department of Agriculture under secretary for natural resources and the environment, helped line up federal take-out funding for the project. Thanks to the efforts of Rey and many others, Congress appropriated much of the money for the acquisition through the Land & Water Conservation Fund. Unfortunately, there was still a $500,000 gap needed to purchase the ranch, as well as additional stewardship needs on the ground.
Members of the Boone & Crockett Club, the Friends of the Elkhorn Ranch, the Elk Foundation and many others all went to work lining up funds for the shortfall and money to improve the habitat and promote the historic ranch as part of the public domain. Thanks to the trustees and staff of the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), that group committed $500,000 for the purchase of the ranch. Friends of the Elkhorn Ranch then led the way to raise additional funds to match the NFWF contribution, money that will be directed to habitat improvement and educational opportunities tied to the ranch and associated federal lands.
Now that the deal is sealed, the Elk Foundation is working with the Friends of the Elkhorn Ranch to oversee stewardship projects on the new public land.
Acquisition of the Eberts’ Ranch will enable the public to enjoy the ranch that helped shape the character of the father of conservation, Theodore Roosevelt. And the traditions of hunting and grazing will continue, just as they had in his day.