By Michael Howell
The County Commissioners took a walk around the Farrell Ranch last month as a preliminary step in considering the use of Open Lands Bond Program funding for the purchase of a conservation easement on the property.
The Farrell Ranch, owned by Hattie Farrell, is located on Middle Burnt Fork Road, approximately five miles east of Stevensville. The 93-acre ranch is in close proximity to several other existing conservation easement properties acquired by the Bitter Root Land Trust (BRLT) with the financial assistance of the Open Lands Bond Program, as well as a couple of larger ones held by the Montana Land Reliance and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation that are also adjacent to parcels of state land. All of these conservation easements are in close proximity and one pending project is located directly adjacent to the eastern boundary of the property. To date, over 5,600 acres are already under conservation easement in the drainage including 963 acres of Open Lands Bond Program funded projects.
According to BRLT Director Gavin Ricklefs, there is a lot of synergy going on up the Burnt Fork and the close proximity of these properties “significantly magnifies each independent project’s conservation impact, creating a large and increasing area of open agricultural ground and wildlife habitat that will be protected from development in perpetuity.”
Farrell and her late husband George, purchased their ranch in 1963 as a Grade B dairy farm. They soon transitioned to a Grade A dairy and, later, to a beef cattle operation. Hattie told the commissioners that she feels strongly about doing her part to protect the agricultural heritage of the Bitterroot Valley.
“I was raised on a big cattle ranch,” she said, “and feel we should save all the ranch land we can.”
That’s also the aim of the Ravalli County Farm and Ranch Board and the county commissioners have considered the preservation of agricultural land and working farms and ranches a high priority in the Open Lands Bond Program process.
The 93 acres is a mix of irrigated hay ground and pasture. Fifty-six acres of the property is comprised of soils of importance and the ranch is served by water rights out of Mill Creek and Burnt Fork Creek.
As part of that aim at preserving agricultural land, Farrell has hatched a plan to move into town and sell the ranch to Dan Kerslake, an energetic young man who has developed a growing farm operation by leasing several properties in the Burnt Fork area and raising hay and cattle. Although the placement of the conservation easement does not mandate this plan, it does insure that the land will remain available for a working agricultural operation in perpetuity, no matter who owns it in the future.
Besides the important agricultural resources, the ranch possesses important wildlife habitat and scenic open space that will also be preserved. Placing this easement on the property will insure that all these values are protected into the future by limiting further development of the property.
The farm serves as valuable winter range for mule deer and elk as well as nesting and hunting habitat for raptors. Mill Creek and Spring Creek both flow through the property as does the BRID’s Big Ditch. This past winter, a herd of approximately 50 elk utilized the cultivated grassland and its adjacent riparian forest. The property provides scenic views of the Bitterroot Mountain Range to the west and is itself visible from a variety of local roadways, including Middle Burnt Fork Road and various roads atop Sunset Bench to the south and Illinois Bench to the north.
After applying its rating system to the property, the Open Lands Board has unanimously recommended the approval of the use of Open Lands Bond Program funds for the project.
The proposed conservation easement value is estimated to be $170,000. Combined with a projected cost of implementing the easement at $30,035, the total cost of the whole project is projected to be about $200,035. The plan calls for Farrell to donate $50,035 of the easement value, leaving $150,000, or 75% of the total project value, to come from the Open Lands Bond Program.