The Magazine of the American Landowner is an essential guide for investors, landowners, and those interested in buying or selling land. The award-winning quarterly is known for its annual survey of America's largest landowners, The Land Report 100.
Issue link: https://landreport.epubxp.com/i/738657
64 The LandReport | FA L L 2 0 1 6 LANDREPORT.COM A frequent question posed to ranchers out West concerns the nature of their dealings with Uncle Sam. That's especially so in Nevada where more than three-quarters of the state is federal property. Rogers's response is refreshing: "What we've found is that what the BLM wants is what we want. They want good sage-grouse habitat? Guess what? So do we. Good sage-grouse habitat is superior cattle habitat. The Elko BLM shares that vision with us. We've worked hard to nurture a solution-minded approach," he says "We have an amazing biologist here in Northeast Nevada, Kari Huebner, who manages game for the Nevada Division of Wildlife. Kari comes to the ranch and helps us develop our grazing management plans. You know what that means? We get Wildlife's input on our plan on the front end," he adds. The Winecup Gamble and seven other ranches have banded together to form SANE: Stewardship Alliance of Northeast Elko. It's a landowner-driven group that partners with state and federal agencies on landscape-scale habitat projects that are also economically viable for the ranching community. One last thought: What's the best way to take a tour of a million-acre ranch? If you've got the time, a fortnight in the saddle right after the spring rains would be ideal. An alternative would be to spend a week in a truck trekking from camp to camp, or in the Winecup Gamble's case, headquarters to headquarters. (There are two.) Given my timeline, a helicopter turned out to be the best option. During our morning aloft, Rogers singled out a range of mountains and referenced it as the ranch's property line. "Do you mean the one with the grassy slopes?" someone asked. "No, that's the first range," he replied. "Do you see the one with the big saddle?" We all nodded. "That's not it, either. That's the second range. I'm talking about the one with the snowy peak, the third range back." That's the Winecup Gamble for you. Unique. One-of-a-kind. Visionary. For more information on the historic Winecup Gamble Ranch, which is currently listed for sale at $77 million, lock, stock, and barrel, go to BatesLandCo.com. ABOVE: Acres of wildflowers color the many mountains that rise from a floor of 4,830 feet above sea level to 8,760 feet. DON WELLER