When landowners work with conservation groups like the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and others, it often results in great benefits for wildlife and those who appreciate public access. Case in point, the North Dakota Wildlife Foundation recently recognized the Richard Angus Access Project with a soil conservation award. Byron Richard received the award because of improvements he made to his 20,000-acre ranch.
“I think the fact that we were going out there and developing the fence infrastructure, putting that wildlife-friendly fence in, put the cattle in … to allow the fords and riparian areas time to heal up,” Richard told the Bismarck Tribune. “What it has (done) is it (has) enhanced wildlife activity down there.”
In 2016, RMEF, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department and other partners worked with Richard who both supports and appreciates the wildlife values of his land and furthered that appreciation by opening hunter access to it. At the same time, the project improved access to two adjacent state land sections to create North Dakota’s largest hunter access tract.