Scary Combination

[kwp]

Was just driving down Ft Lowell in Tucson and saw two G&F trucks parked at the Nature Conservancy office. Makes we wonder what stupid ideas they are gonna throw at us next. Is dealing with these enviro groups a regular part of their jobs?

[Benbrown]

Was just driving down Ft Lowell in Tucson and saw two G&F trucks parked at the Nature Conservancy office. Makes we wonder what stupid ideas they are gonna throw at us next. Is dealing with these enviro groups a regular part of their jobs?

 

When it involves habitat protection and restoration, yes. I worked for TNC for 14 years in their Science and Stewardship programs. During that time, we I worked almost dailly with state and federal land management agencies to protect, restore and maintain habitat for wildlife--both game and nongame. TNC is about land protection. They don't protest, they don't sue the feds or the states, and most of the lamd that they acquire ends up being transferred to an appropriate federal or state agency to administer as part of their portfolio. Many of our best National Wildlife Refuges (which are open to hunting and fishing) were acquired as a result of transactions that involved TNC as the initial buyer or facilitator. Most of the folks with whom I worked at TNC are avid hunters and/or anglers. I still hunt with a lot of them when we can make time and place work out.

[kwp]

Wow, great info Ben. I always lumped them into the wacko enviro groups like Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, etc.

[billrquimby]

Ben is correct. The Nature Conservancy is about preserving habitat and its mission does not exclude hunting. If I were wealthy, it is an organization I would support with donations.

 

Bill Quimby

[azslim]

TNC did the opposite in Wy around my home town, they would buy up the big ranches, sell off the hqtrs to one of their friends and lock up the rest. They don't have a good name in Fremont County.

 

Glad to hear this one isn't that way.

[Benbrown]

TNC did the opposite in Wy around my home town, they would buy up the big ranches, sell off the hqtrs to one of their friends and lock up the rest. They don't have a good name in Fremont County.

 

Glad to hear this one isn't that way.

How did they go about "locking up the rest"? Just curious.

[ultramag]

Hassampa river area near wickenburg is all locked up. Some is not even posted which I found out the hard way a few years back.. The guy called us poachers..as well as other choice words.

[IA Born]

Well put Ben! As a Federal wildlife manager, I've had nothing but great experiences working with the AZ TNC on habitat and wildlife protection. One of the best outfits I've ever worked with. I've heard stories of TNC in other states, but had nothing but the best experiences with AZ TNC. Several of our meetings included sharing some good hunting/fishing spots with others.

 

Not to defend the other groups, but not all of their lawsuits against Federal agencies are unwarranted.

[AZLance]

The Sonoita Creek Preserve and Ramsey Canyon Preserve are Off Limits to Hunters... Also, not sure the name of it, but there is a large tract of land in 35A just north of Canelo Pass that is posted "Nature Conservancy, No Hunting".

[Benbrown]

The Nature Conservancy occasionally retains properties that they can manage best for the rare species and/or ecological assemblies that occur there. On some of these, unfettered public access for hunting or any other activity may not be a part of the management plan. These are usually relatively small parcels, although they may also have been traditional routes to access public lands beyond. Ramsey Canyon and Sonoita Creek are good examples of this. TNC is just like any other private land owner. They have the right to restrict access to their properties that they have bought from willing sellers. For the most part, they protect habitat the old-fahsioned way: they buy it.

 

I assume that the last example referred to above is the Canelo Hills Cienega Reserve. It's not public land and was not public before the Conservany acquired it. For the the most part, the projects that I have worked on that the Conservancy retained managed access just as it was before. If it was open to hunting, it remained open to hunting. In the case of the Canelo Hills: The Canelo Hills Cienega Reserve, is a nature preserve southeast of Sonoita, Arizona on the east side of the Canelo Hills. The area's 260 acres (110 ha) are a mix of rare cienega wetland and Black Oak and Arizona Fescue fields.^[1] The preserve is notable for the extremely rare Canelo Ladies Tresses Orchid (Spiranthes delitescens) ^[2][3] and the Gila chub and Gila sucker that grow along its alkaline banks. The ranch was purchased by the Nature Conservancy in 1969 from the Knipes family.^[4] It was designated a National Natural Landmark in December 1974.

[Non-Typical Solutions]

Ben,

What was the group that took over the Grey ranch down there where you are at???? Am I mixing up conservancy programs.....Ted Turner....???

[azslim]

No trespassing, fishing or hunting allowed.

[Benbrown]

Ben,

What was the group that took over the Grey ranch down there where you are at???? Am I mixing up conservancy programs.....Ted Turner....???

The Gray Ranch, now one of several contiguous properties collectively called the Diamond A Ranches, was sold to the Animas Foundation, a private operating foundation that was created to acquire the Gray from TNC and manage it as a working ranch while protecting all of its unique ecological features. TNC retains a conservation easement on the property and the ranch is monitored at regular intervals to demonstrate that the foundation's management is adhering to the terms of the easement. The Gray consisted of about 322,000 acres, approximately 260,000 of which are private land. Most of the state trust and BLM lands are landlocked by private lands and the ranch is not open to the public. The Animas Foundation is a creation of the Hadley family. Ted Turner is not involved, although he did look hard at buying the Gray before the Hadleys became involved.

[Non-Typical Solutions]

Ben,

What was the group that took over the Grey ranch down there where you are at???? Am I mixing up conservancy programs.....Ted Turner....???

The Gray Ranch, now one of several contiguous properties collectively called the Diamond A Ranches, was sold to the Animas Foundation, a private operating foundation that was created to acquire the Gray from TNC and manage it as a working ranch while protecting all of its unique ecological features. TNC retains a conservation easement on the property and the ranch is monitored at regular intervals to demonstrate that the foundation's management is adhering to the terms of the easement. The Gray consisted of about 322,000 acres, approximately 260,000 of which are private land. Most of the state trust and BLM lands are landlocked by private lands and the ranch is not open to the public. The Animas Foundation is a creation of the Hadley family. Ted Turner is not involved, although he did look hard at buying the Gray before the Hadleys became involved.

We used to hunt what used to be the Slover ranch and I was just a kid but I don't remember having to access that through the Gray ranch. The Slovers would let us sleep there at their ranch as long as we didn't shoot any of the wifes pet deer that hung out close by which we respected of course.

A bunch of the kids I grew up with came from homes down in that area, I wish I would have paid more attention to exactly what that area consisted of at that time as far as private property.

Is Hatchet mountain accessible these days or is it locked off?

There is an interesting book written by one of the old school teachers there Dunagan maybe??? I can't remember, it talks about how people were given the opportunity to squat that land for ownership but it was such a tough area, most of them living in tents to stick it out.

I am not familiar with the Hadley family.

 

Isn't that one of the areas that they re-introduces one of the prarie dog species??? Black tail or something like that??

[Benbrown]

Sorry for the tardy response--we have been driving up here to Lincoln, NE, to see a new grandson.

 

The Slover Ranch has been owned by Levi Klump for over 20 years. The county road to it does cross the old Gray Ranch, but it is a public road. The road runs up Horse Camp Draw and that is where the new Border Patrol Forward Operating Base is located.

 

Hatchet Peak is accessible from the north and west, but the south side (including the Cowboy Rim) is blocked by private property owned by the Pacific Western Land Company that is leased to Hurt Cattle Company.

 

The Dunagan book is interesting, but not very accurate as some of her remembrances are incomplete or factually wrong. However, lots of the early settlers did live in tents or dugouts. Often these were "dry camps" where they had to haul in the water that was needed for them and their livestock.

 

The Hadleys have ranched over in Guadalupe Canyon for over 45 years. The home place is in New Mexico, but the ranch straddles both states.

 

The Animas Foundation did reintroduce black-tailed prairie dogs as a part of a long-term research project looking at the effects of herbivory, fire and climate on Chihuahaun Desert grasslands.