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Wetzsteon's conservation land swap finalized
by KRISTIN KNIGHT - Ravalli Republic
The Wetzsteon family of Sula closed on an agreement yesterday with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation to permanently conserve their 367-acre Lyman Creek property. The property was then conveyed to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, who will in turn trade the parcel with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation to consolidate its holdings.
The acreage is surrounded by state and federal lands and will be made available to the public.
“We've had the property optioned for over a year now,” said RMEF Lands Program Manager Mike Mueller. “The Elk Foundation had control of the property from the family and had been raising money and going through bringing in partnerships to complete the project. We just got enough money raised a month ago, so we went toward going ahead to buy it.”
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation bought the property yesterday and immediately sold it to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks on the same day.
William Wetzsteon, 82, who was born in Sula, is the grandson of a Montana pioneer family that migrated West in the late 1880s. The lives of his ancestors are chronicled in Montana's history books.
“We could have received more for the land, but this was the right thing to do,” Wetzsteon said after he, his wife Terry, his sister-in-law Betty and her sons Brian and Bob closed on the sale.
The land was appraised by the state for $1,700 per acre, making the total purchase price $623,900.
At an elevation of 5,500 feet, about 35 percent of the property is timbered with about 65 percent open grazing land. The 2000 fire near Darby burned some of the timber and Wetzsteon has been working with loggers to clear trees burned in the fire. The property is an in-holding within land managed by the DNRC and the Bitterroot National Forest. It supports a high density of wintering elk in the Bitterroot and has not been grazed in more than 20 years. Its only improvements are a small cabin without electricity and an outhouse.
“The property provides great elk and mule deer habitat,” said Bob Wetzsteon. “We've always allowed access through our part of the ranch for hunting, and that 367 acres is five or six miles away. It's never really been part of the contiguous ranchland. But William tried to keep it more private for himself and didn't really allow hunting access.”
The property is located on a Forest Service road that was locked during hunting season.
“The best access was on horseback or walking quite a ways,” Bob Wetzsteon said. “There wasn't that good of access to that part originally. Now, it's state land and we feel it's in its best use right now.”
“The hunter-conservationist organizations in Montana really stepped up to show support for this project,” Mueller said.
Mueller thanked the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Foundation, Ravalli County Fish and Wildlife Association, Safari Club International, the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep, the Rapp Family Foundation, and the Elk Foundation supporters and volunteers.
“This was a very special project and it's a great day for the Bitterroot Valley and the people who live here,” he said.
Mueller said because the land is surrounded by state and federal land and is a migratory corridor for elk and other wildlife, development would have had a serious impact on the entire landscape and its wildlife.
“The Wetzsteon Family has been here a long time and they've watched the changes in the valley,” he said. “Because of their love of the land and wildlife, they wanted to see this land made available to the public for hunting and other forms of recreation forever.”
Last year, the DNRC originally proposed swapping an 800-acre swath of state land in French Basin, south of Darby, for 1,400 acres of private land near Lincoln, Mont. The 800 acres were then going to be sold to a private landowner. After public outcry in the Bitterroot over access, the option to purchase the Wetzsteon property came up at a land board meeting and seemed to mitigate the public's interest. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks wanted to buy the property, but had to go through an approval process to use Habitat Montana dollars, which are reserved to buy only crucial wildlife habitat in the state. Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation held onto the property until FWP could buy it. In January, the state Land Board in Helena approved the acreage for purchase by FWP.
by KRISTIN KNIGHT - Ravalli Republic
The Wetzsteon family of Sula closed on an agreement yesterday with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation to permanently conserve their 367-acre Lyman Creek property. The property was then conveyed to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, who will in turn trade the parcel with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation to consolidate its holdings.
The acreage is surrounded by state and federal lands and will be made available to the public.
“We've had the property optioned for over a year now,” said RMEF Lands Program Manager Mike Mueller. “The Elk Foundation had control of the property from the family and had been raising money and going through bringing in partnerships to complete the project. We just got enough money raised a month ago, so we went toward going ahead to buy it.”
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation bought the property yesterday and immediately sold it to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks on the same day.
William Wetzsteon, 82, who was born in Sula, is the grandson of a Montana pioneer family that migrated West in the late 1880s. The lives of his ancestors are chronicled in Montana's history books.
“We could have received more for the land, but this was the right thing to do,” Wetzsteon said after he, his wife Terry, his sister-in-law Betty and her sons Brian and Bob closed on the sale.
The land was appraised by the state for $1,700 per acre, making the total purchase price $623,900.
At an elevation of 5,500 feet, about 35 percent of the property is timbered with about 65 percent open grazing land. The 2000 fire near Darby burned some of the timber and Wetzsteon has been working with loggers to clear trees burned in the fire. The property is an in-holding within land managed by the DNRC and the Bitterroot National Forest. It supports a high density of wintering elk in the Bitterroot and has not been grazed in more than 20 years. Its only improvements are a small cabin without electricity and an outhouse.
“The property provides great elk and mule deer habitat,” said Bob Wetzsteon. “We've always allowed access through our part of the ranch for hunting, and that 367 acres is five or six miles away. It's never really been part of the contiguous ranchland. But William tried to keep it more private for himself and didn't really allow hunting access.”
The property is located on a Forest Service road that was locked during hunting season.
“The best access was on horseback or walking quite a ways,” Bob Wetzsteon said. “There wasn't that good of access to that part originally. Now, it's state land and we feel it's in its best use right now.”
“The hunter-conservationist organizations in Montana really stepped up to show support for this project,” Mueller said.
Mueller thanked the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Foundation, Ravalli County Fish and Wildlife Association, Safari Club International, the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep, the Rapp Family Foundation, and the Elk Foundation supporters and volunteers.
“This was a very special project and it's a great day for the Bitterroot Valley and the people who live here,” he said.
Mueller said because the land is surrounded by state and federal land and is a migratory corridor for elk and other wildlife, development would have had a serious impact on the entire landscape and its wildlife.
“The Wetzsteon Family has been here a long time and they've watched the changes in the valley,” he said. “Because of their love of the land and wildlife, they wanted to see this land made available to the public for hunting and other forms of recreation forever.”
Last year, the DNRC originally proposed swapping an 800-acre swath of state land in French Basin, south of Darby, for 1,400 acres of private land near Lincoln, Mont. The 800 acres were then going to be sold to a private landowner. After public outcry in the Bitterroot over access, the option to purchase the Wetzsteon property came up at a land board meeting and seemed to mitigate the public's interest. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks wanted to buy the property, but had to go through an approval process to use Habitat Montana dollars, which are reserved to buy only crucial wildlife habitat in the state. Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation held onto the property until FWP could buy it. In January, the state Land Board in Helena approved the acreage for purchase by FWP.
