The ranch range is dominated by both native grasses such as bluebunch & slender wheatgrass, Idaho fescue, Columbia & green needlegrass, mountain brome and basin wildrye, along with introduced species including Timothy, Kentucky bluegrass, smooth brome and creeping meadow foxtail. Various forbs and shrubs such as big sagebrush, willow, sticky geranium, lupine, cinquefoil and western yarrow are also found across the landscape. We manage our land to produce a diversity of desirable plants, strong root systems, litter incorporation and plant vigor – all indicators of a healthy range.

Appropriate livestock grazing for land health and forage productivity is one of the many ranch land uses. We utilize cattle as a tool to enhance the health of the range. As grazing treatments are planned and applied, livestock numbers are adjusted to achieve desired levels of forage utilization in specific habitats (such as riparian areas and meadows) and livestock herds are moved from one area to another as often as needed to preserve and enhance the health of the ecosystem.

Soils on the ranch vary considerably in depth, stoniness and texture. Most are silty or sandy, low in organic matter content and highly erodible when exposed to action by wind or water. Soil depth is greater in the riparian areas and bottomlands associated with floodplain sedimentation.



The ranch has a few areas where non-native, noxious weeds have attempted to establish, including several patches of spotted knapweed (a hardy purple-flowering plant that has infested more than 4.5 million acres of Montana, severely reducing cropland and grazing capacity for wildlife and livestock) and extensive spread of houndstongue (a common weed along western streams and creeks that, upon maturity at the end of its two-year growth cycle, sends its seeds far and wide in the form of burrs that stick to everything that walks, from elk to cattle to human pant legs). These, as well as less prevalent weeds such as Canada and musk thistle, oxeye daisy and common tansy are of significant concern and are being monitored and/or remedied with various organic control remedies.

More than half of the ranch's deeded property is coniferous forestland consisting primariy of lodgepole pine, Englemann spruce, Douglas and subalpine fir and whitebark pine at higher elevations. Aspen groves are abundant in transition areas between range and forest. Some areas were historically logged and are in various stages of regrowth, while others consist of mature stands. We manage the ranch's substantial timber resource as habitat rather than as a crop, harvesting logs for firewood, fence material and conversion to lumber for on-ranch construction on a limited basis.


Riparian areas are typical of those found along high gradient channels in the steep, rocky, mountainous areas of Montana, and typically possess only a narrow band of riparian vegetation situated immediately adjacent to the stream channel. The ranch is bisected by Tom Miner Creek, to which numerous smaller creeks serve as tributaries. The riparian system (including several heavily willow-dominated swampy areas) provides spawning ground for native Yellowstone cutthroat trout, home for beavers, nesting areas for Sandhill cranes and summer habitat for other smaller waterfowl.

In 1998 we began work to establish a self-regulating and sustaining riparian system along an old irrigation ditch that draws from Skully Creek. This system now consists of a series of channels, pools and streams designed for year-round flows.

Bank stabilization of Tom Miner Creek began in 1999 along a particularly unstable stretch of the creek. The restoration design utilizes native willows from on-site sources, with transplantation efforts attempting to emulate natural patterns of plant colonization found elsewhere within the riparian corridor. This project continues today.

The distinct assortment of vegetation and topography on the ranch provides important habitat for most forms of wildlife found in neighboring Yellowstone National Park. Elk, white-tail and mule deer, moose, grizzly and black bear, wolves, coyotes, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, bobcat, mountain lions, and numerous small mammals roam the ranch's 9,000 acres and freely traverse the six-mile boundary with Yellowstone Park.

We respect the role of established predator/prey relationships and the importance of tempering our activities with regard to native wildlife populations. With an eye on our livestock and acceptance of commonsense predator management practices, we endeavor to live without conflict with our wildlife neighbors.

Traditional bird migration patterns include the flyways above the B Bar. More than 75 bird species either journey through or reside year-round on the ranch. We are fortunate to regularly observe sandhill cranes, great blue herons, great-horned owls and bald and golden eagles. We also see red-tail and rough-legged hawks, Clark's nutcrackers, western meadowlarks, black-billed magpies, mountain bluebirds, ruffed and blue grouse, gray and Steller's jays, western tanager, mountain chickadees, pine grosbeaks, Canada geese, trumpeter swans and various ducks and other waterfowl. We celebrate the avian population's continued land, riparian and skyway uses on and above the Basin.

Additionally, Tom Miner Creek provides precious habitat for its rare community of native Yellowstone cutthroat trout and a growing population of beavers.

We strive to maintain dialogue and working relationships with our neighbors and the various agencies that have authority regarding the natural resources, including the Forest Service, Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks, Department of Natural Resource Conservation and the National Park Service. Overall, we work to assure the best possible outcomes for the resource base.