For many reasons. It was a money loser. Operating a large ranch in the manner that was required was not a money making proposition. RMEF is a conservation group, not a ranching company. They agreed to accept the ranch originally, with a lot of restrictions, and place a conservation easement on it, and operate it as the late Mr. Torstenson had requested. That was far better than allowing it to be sold on the market and possibly be developed and degrade the wildlife values Mr. Torstenson had built there. Even if it cost RMEF money to do it, permanently conserving the ranch was a great step.
After years of discussion with the Torstenson Family, it was agreed that RMEF would be best served to sell it to a conservation-minded buyer and with the sales proceeds placed in a restricted endowment fund, more mission work could be accomplished and RMEF could get out of the ranching business. So, it was sold in late 2012 and the entire sales price was placed in an endowment fund where RMEF can only use earnings on that fund, not to exceed 5% of the fund balance per year, and it is restricted to mission-related projects meeting the guidelines the family agreed to. No overhead or administrative expenses can be covered with the endowment earnings.
So when all is said and done, the Double HH gets placed under a conservation easement and protected for perpetuity; a conservation-minded buyer ends up with the Double HH, RMEF gets out of the ranching business and is allowed to convert the Double HH from an asset that was a drain to mission work to an asset that now provides resources to improve mission work.
The Torstenson Family has an amazing conservation ethic. RMEF is fortunate that the family has placed enough trust in RMEF to do what is right with those endowment earnings and make a difference for conservation, habitat, access, and hunting heritage.
Hope that explains it. This Red Hill project is just one example of how this Torstenson Endowment can be used to implement the mission of RMEF and its members.
