Murphy Creek Ranch (../images/murphyranchhr.jpg) The Nature Conservancy in Montana Press Releases Search All Press Releases Tana Kappel 406-388-7515; tkappel@tnc.org

Nature Conservancy buys Centennial Valley Ranch

More than a third of private lands in the Centennial now protected from subdivision

Dillon, Montana—9 November 2006—The Staudenmeyer family of Dillon, Montana, has sold its 11,500-acre Murphy Creek Ranch in Montana’s Centennial Valley to The Nature Conservancy of Montana.

"This deal is huge," says the Conservancy’s Tim Swanson, "not only because the ranch is within one of the most significant natural landscapes in Montana, but because of the richness of the ranchland itself."

The purchase is part of an on-going effort to preserve this remote valley’s ranching history and rich wildlife habitat. So far, the Conservancy, area landowners and government agencies have used conservation easements and land acquisition to protect around 38,000 acres of private land in the valley.

"This purchase guarantees that this ranch and the surrounding working landscape will retain its rural wildlife-rich character that hasn’t changed much in centuries," added Swanson, southwest Montana program director for the Conservancy.

The ranch borders the 45,000-acre Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge to the south. The abundant wetlands of the ranch and the refuge harbor more than 230 species of birds and waterfowl. The ranch and surrounding lands are also a haven for migratory wildlife that travel from Yellowstone Park and the Madison Valley over the Gravelly Mountains into the Centennial.

The Conservancy plans to re-sell a large portion of the ranch to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for inclusion into the Red Rock Lakes Refuge. Much of the ranch lies within the original refuge boundary established by Executive Order in 1935 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

"This purchase and other private land conservation efforts in the valley will help ensure the connectivity of wildlife corridors from the Gravellys to the Centennial Mountains," said Mike Parker, manager of the refuge. "We’ll also be able to add significant wetlands to the refuge."

Beaverhead County Commissioner Garth Haugland expressed support for the land sale. "I think what the Conservancy is doing is positive for the Centennial. The reality is that valley has been discovered and efforts like this will help keep the Centennial looking like the Centennial."

Given the importance of tax revenues for rural counties, the Conservancy will pay taxes on the land it retains as it does for all of its land statewide, even though as a non-profit it’s not required to.

Parker doesn’t anticipate net loss of revenue to Beaverhead County as a result of some of the land going public. "Depending on the rate set by Congress, payments from the Refuge Revenue Sharing Program should adequately reimburse the county for the property purchased by the Fish and Wildlife Service," he added.

Having the land go into public ownership is a better alternative than having subdivisions in the remote Centennial, said Haugland. "If we had subdivisions out there, the cost of providing services would far outweigh any potential loss of tax revenue to the county." 

The ranch has been in the Staudenmeyer family since 1935, when the late Les Staudenmeyer began purchasing properties in the area. In recent years, Les’s son Bill, his wife Judy and their family have grazed their roughly 1,100 cow-calf pairs here every summer.

"The grass in this valley is like grain. We think it’s the best grass in southwest Montana and that’s what we’ll miss the most," said Judy.

The family decided to sell their Centennial Valley property order to consolidate their family ranch operation and its holdings around the Cross Ranch south of Dillon, Montana. The family-run operation will still carry the Centennial Livestock name, and will be managed by Bill and Judy’s son, Will, his wife Patti, and Bill and Judy’s daughter, Debbie, and husband Tom Tamcke.

"We were fortunate to be able to work with the Staudenmeyers, who have been excellent stewards of this land," said Swanson, who negotiated the land deal.

Patrick Bates Land Company, with offices in Bozeman and Salt Lake City, represented the Staudenmeyer family and also cooperated closely with the Conservancy in this transaction. 

This ranch, with its stunning views of the 10,000-foot Centennial peaks, has many important conservation values: wetlands, streams, sagebrush grasslands and sandhill communities," said Nathan Korb, the Conservancy’s southwest Montana land steward.

The Conservancy plans to retain one biologically critical piece of the ranch – 1,186 acres of the Centennial Sandhills. These unique sandy formations are a rare habitat in Montana, with only one other like it in the northeastern corner of the state, said Brian Martin, the Conservancy’s director of science and stewardship.

Four globally rare plant species -- Fendler’s cateye, painted milkvetch, white-stemmed pale evening primrose and sand wild rye -- occur here in features called "blowouts." These sandy mounds require disturbances created by wind and the hooves of grazing animals to maintain the conditions necessary for the rare plants that live there.

"We’re planning to do some grazing studies and reintroduce fire into the system. Prescribed burns should stimulate more blowouts and remove some of the sagebrush," said Korb.

The Conservancy also is considering selling or leasing a few small outlying parcels and the associated grazing leases, along with conservation agreements, to neighboring ranchers.

"We’re glad the Conservancy bought the ranch because we’d hate to see this land developed. It’s important for ranchers to see the value in good conservation and of preserving the beauty of this valley," said Judy Staudenmeyer.

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