Victor farmland conserved in perpetuity

9th generation ranch family here since 1880 preserves their legacy 

The Buker family of Victor has pursued the protection of their family ranch through a conservation easement in partnership with the Bitter Root Land Trust (BRLT), honoring a nearly 150-year family legacy in Bitterroot agriculture.

Thanks to the vision of landowners Tony Sherer and Clarissa (Buker) Patzer, the 160-acre property will remain in-tact in perpetuity under the conservation easement, a voluntary agreement and private property right that restricts the development of the land to fulfill conservation values while allowing the landowner to continue to farm, ranch or work the land as they wish.

The ranch was homesteaded in 1880 by Buker’s great-great grandfather John M. Buker under the ‘Homestead Act’ signed by President Cleveland. Since then, the ranch has been home to several generations of Bukers who have operated a cow-calf operation and grown hay, including Clarissa’s father John E. Buker who was an active member in the community and affectionately known by the nickname, “Ranger Jack.” 

The property sits near where Big Creek meets the Bitterroot Valley floor, and is in close proximity to other existing and in-progress conservation easements completed in partnership with BRLT. 

Active members of the community, the Buker family were founding members of the Big Creek Lakes Reservoir Association. They helped to build the original Big Creek Lakes dam between 1897 and 1906. The water was used to provide late season irrigation to approximately 2,500 acres of ranch/farmlands. Subsequent Buker generations have maintained extensive involvement as officers of the Big Creek Lakes Reservoir and have been pivotal in the maintenance and operation of the dam itself, including its total rebuilding in the 1970s. 

“We are surrounded by land of many different types of uses, including Big Creek Dairy, one of the last remaining Bitterroot Valley dairies, and large acreage farmland,” says landowner Tony Sherer. “Of concern to many, this is an area that at this time has little land protected from more intensive development. While we intend to continue to farm the property, we wanted to protect it in perpetuity beyond ‘our time’ from development pressures. The Bitter Root Land Trust was an important resource in this endeavor.” 

The Big Creek drainage serves as an important habitat corridor and thoroughfare for the many species of wildlife on the west side of the valley. The property’s large, open and unfenced irrigated fields provide foraging habitat for herds of elk, raptors, migrating birds, and owls. Whitetail deer graze the property year-round, and a 2 acre irrigation pond provides habitat for fish and waterfowl.

“We are incredibly grateful for the vision of Clarissa, Tony and the Buker family to partner with BRLT to fulfill their conservation goals,” says Lauren Rennaker, Bitter Root Land Trust Executive Director. “When local landowners make the decision to honor the legacy of their family and land by placing a conservation easement on their property, the positive impact of that decision spans far beyond their fence line. It opens agricultural opportunities for future generations, protects the habitat where wildlife can continue to thrive, and ensures the open land won’t drastically change in coming years. Conservation is key in protecting family legacies and the natural attributes that make the Bitterroot Valley so special, and it wouldn’t be possible without landowners like the Bukers and our community’s support.”

The project was made possible thanks to federal funding received from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS) Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), and local bond dollars from the Ravalli County Open Lands Bond Program. 

“The NRCS’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program has been a great help to BRLT and its many partners, including the Bukers, in our collective efforts to preserve local farms and ranches, water, wildlife habitat and open spaces,” says Melissa Odell, BRLT Lands Director. “The Bukers have joined a larger neighborhood effort in Victor, where several other landowners nearby have also decided to conserve their farms for the future. RCPP provides the needed financial assistance to compensate landowners for their voluntary conservation efforts, continuing this momentum, and helps leverage the Ravalli County Open Lands Bond Program funding. This leverage ensures that the local Open Lands Bond funds will stretch farther, and be available for more conservation efforts here in our valley in the future.”