Adopt A Ranch gives sportsmen and women a chance to show deep appreciation to landowners who allow access to their wonderful acres.
PF on the Landscape in Montana
By Tori Ogolin
Montana is home to some of the greatest hunting and outdoor recreation opportunities North America has to offer. Composed of 38 percent public land (nearly 27 million acres), the privilege of being able to access Montana parcels without permission is gratifying.
In addition to these 27 million acres of public land, Montana also has 6 million acres enrolled in Montana Fish, Wildlife and Park’s Block Management program. This program reimburses private landowners for allowing the public to hunt on their private land. Private landowners enroll in this program voluntarily, trusting that the public accessing the land will respect the rules and regulations that are set.
As sportsmen and women, what can we do to show our appreciation to these landowners? That is where our new “Adopt A Ranch” program comes into play. The goal of this program is to provide a way in which sportsmen and women can say, “Thank you for providing access.”
How do we accomplish this? Workdays. We scan spend an afternoon, a day, two days, whatever is necessary … building fence, implementing cattle guards, painting the barn, wherever the landowner could use an extra hand or two for a day.
Volunteered labor. This is how we say thank you. Here is an example.
During the summer of 2021, fires burned out of control in eastern Montana. Encompassed by these fires was a ranch that had been enrolled in Montana’s Block Management program since the program began in the mid-1980s. This property that provides superb hunting opportunities for upland birds, antelope, mule deer, elk and turkey saw nearly 96 percent of its 30,000 acres burned.
Lost in these fires was roughly 60 miles of fence, multiple shelterbelts, a garage and much more. After hearing about the damage that this landowner suffered, Pheasants Forever biologists reached out to see if this new program caught the landowner’s interest. The landowner was intrigued by the idea of the program, and the planning began.
On the morning of May 26, 16 volunteers gathered at the ranch headquarters to show their gratitude by spending the next two days building fence. These 16 volunteers arrived supporting multiple different backgrounds, ranging from Montana game wardens, BLM range specialists, Pheasants Forever biologists, retired BLM wildlife biologists, and even local sportsmen and women.
As most people from Montana know, rural ranching communities can be a long way from civilization. In this case, the closest hotel was a 45-minute drive on a gravel road. Knowing this, the landowner went out of his way to provide an area on his ranch for these volunteers to pitch tents, park vehicles, barbecue, and just relax after a hard day’s work.
By the end of day two, these 16 volunteers, in addition to the landowner and his hired hand, successfully constructed 12 miles of new wildlife friendly fence!
“Acts of kindness like this are what got us through these fires that burned 96 percent of our ranch,” landowner Clint McRae said. “It was wonderful to see so many volunteers along with all of the different agencies that they represented.”
The Adopt A Ranch program can strengthen the relationship between private landowners and sportsmen and women. If we want to continue to have the privilege to create lasting memories on these private acres, this program that creates a way to say thank you in a big way.
This story originally appeared in the 2023 Spring Issue of the Pheasants Forever Journal. If you enjoyed it and would like to be the first to read more great upland content like this, become a Pheasants Forever member today!