Rimfire Ranch Daniel, Wyoming
“Buy land. They ain’t making anymore of that stuff.” -Will Rogers
ď‚– INTRODUCTION Rimfire Ranch is headquarted 75 miles Southeast of Jackson Hole, Wyoming near the ranching community of Daniel, Wyoming. Rimfire Ranch is 10 minutes south of Daniel, and is flanked by the Wind River Mountain Range to the Northeast, the Gros Ventre Mountain Range to the North, and the Wyoming Mountain Range to the West. This spectacular working and recreational ranch sits in the heart of pure ranching country in the Green River Valley. Managed as a yearling operation for the past 15 years this 3,599+/- deeded acre ranch (over 11,000 total acres) has excellent water rights, strategic and well maintained working corrals, indoor shipping scales, and a very well appointed owners home, and guest house. Additionally, Rimfire Ranch has a very nice rustic guest cabin, and historic log barn located at the headquarters, and a ranch managers home located approximately 2 miles away from the ranch headquarters. Offered for $6,500,000 www.LiveJacksonHole.com
- 307.699.3927 -
www.LiveJacksonHole.com
- 307.699.3927 -
www.LiveJacksonHole.com
HISTORY In the heart of Sublette County Wyoming, this wellappointed, award-winning, working and recreational ranch has it all; owner’s home, guest house, guest cabin(s), and ranch managers house. Excellent working corrals and outbuildings on this 11,000 acre ranch (3,599 +/- deeded) which has been operated as a profitable and productive yearling operation for the past 15 years. 2,500 +/- acres of irrigated water rights out of the Green River and Cottonwood Creek. Rimfire Ranch is a 75 minute drive from Jackson Hole, and a 20 minute drive from Pinedale. Daniel was founded over 100 years ago, and this area has a heritage of Mountain Man, Fur Traders , and Native Americans who gathered at Rendezvous points throughout the Upper Green in the early 1800’s. In the late 1800’s this area transitioned into a rich and productive ranching community. Lush surroundings, an abundance of wildlife, and some of the most scenic settings in Wyoming continued to attract early settlers of the Rocky Mountain West. -307.699.3927-
www.LiveJacksonHole.com
SUBLETTECOUNTY•WYOMING PEOPLE. Almost everyone living in Sublette County has an appreciation for its nationally recognized outdoor recreation opportunities. In 2011, Pinedale was listed by Outdoor Life magazine as the second best place in the country for sportsmen to live. The agriculture community continues to thrive in Sublette County, mostly because of cattle ranching, although it is nowhere near the dominating economic force it once was. Tourism, another of the area’s oldest industries, also remains strong, with the county hosting visitors annually from around the world. While Sublette County is larger than Rhode Island, the population is still small—10,247 in the 2010 census.
GEOGRAPHY. Sublette County, Wyoming’s sixth largest, is located in the western part of the state and covers approximately 3.2 million acres, 80 percent of which are public land. Elevation ranges from 6,280 feet in the valley to 13,400 feet in the Wind River Range. The county hosts more than 1,300 lakes. The mountain ranges give birth to numerous fast-flowing streams that find their way into the Green River. Isolated geographically, first from railroads and then from interstate highways and population centers, the county retained its frontier culture far longer than many areas of Wyoming and the West, and its population remained sparse until well into the 20th century.
EARLY HISTORY. Three well-known archaeological sites place indigenous peoples for thousands of years in what’s now Sublette County. The Wardell Buffalo Trap is the oldest known kill site where hunters used bows and arrows, and dates back approximately 1,000 years. The Trapper’s Point Antelope Kill Site has been radiocarbon dated to 7,880 to 4,690 years ago. And archaeologists excavating the J. David Love Site in the Jonah Field south of present Pinedale uncovered the oldest burial in Wyoming, dating back 7,200 years. Archaeological data suggests that people have lived here for at least 9,000 years. Archaeologists also believe all of the natives were seasonal, moving out during the winter and returning for the summer.
MOUNTAIN MEN AND THE RENDEZVOUS. The first Euro-Americans to arrive in the Rocky Mountain region came for beaver in the mountain streams and rivers. Beaver pelts were relatively small and easy to transport and brought good prices in the eastern markets. Beaver fur hats were the fashion in the United States and Europe, increasing demand. What is now Sublette County lies in the heart of what was some of the most productive beaver country in the Rocky Mountain West. The Green River and many of the streams in Sublette County were heavily trapped by the mountain men. Trappers were known to be in Wyoming as early 1807 when John Colter came to the country, but historians consider 1820 to 1840 the peak years of the beaver fur trade. In the East and Midwest, Indian and white trappers alike had long brought furs to trading posts. But opposition to the trade in the early 1820s from Indians along the Missouri River hindered the transactions. William Ashley of St. Louis adapted a Canadian trading system about this time that would be known as the rendezvous. Ashley put the word out to trappers to meet the following summer at a chosen site in the midst of the best trapping grounds to trade the season’s catch. In the following decade, six annual trappers’ rendezvous were held near the junction of Horse Creek and the Green River near present-day Daniel, Wyo., in 1833, 1835, 1836, 1837, 1839 and 1840. Here the season’s take in pelts was traded for powder and ball, Green River skinning knives, traps, blankets, trade beads and whiskey. But just at the time trapping killed off most of the beaver, silk hats replaced beaver ones. The beaver boom disappeared. The 1840 rendezvous was the last one.
-307.699.3927-
THE GREAT WESTWARD MIGRATION AND THE LANDER WAGON ROAD. Starting in the early 1840s, a trickle at first and later a flood of people began making the 2,000- mile trek from the Midwest to Oregon, California, and the 1,000-mile trek to Utah. As many as half a million people crossed what’s now Wyoming bound for these places before the transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869. In what’s now Wyoming, the emigrants crossed South Pass, the only wagon route through the Rocky Mountains. Many former mountain men with knowledge of western terrain became scouts and trail leaders for the emigrants. Once over South Pass, they followed the Mormon Trail to Utah and Salt Lake City or chose any of a number of routes and cutoffs to California or Oregon. First of these was Sublette’s Cutoff, probably blazed by William Sublette in 1826 as a shortcut between South Pass and the Bear River. This cutoff is located just south of the modern-day Sweetwater-Sublette County line. Second was the Lander Cutoff or Lander Wagon Road. This shortcut between South Pass and the Snake River region crosses what’s now the southern end of Sublette County. It was built late in the history of the Oregon Trail and was the only portion of the trail constructed with government funds and expertise. The route took travelers north of present Big Piney, Wyo., up South Piney Creek through Snyder Basin and Star Valley, and into what is now Idaho, past Gray’s Lake to Fort Hall near present-day Pocatello, Idaho. This road was named in honor of Frederick W. Lander, an engineer with the U.S. Department of the Interior, who surveyed the path and supervised its 1857-1859 construction.
SUBLETTE COUNTY’S FIRST SETTLERS: Cattlemen. The area was not conducive for farming, but in the late 1870s, cattlemen recognized its grazing potential. A surplus of cattle in other regions combined with the completion of the transcontinental railroad to help make the cattle business possible in Wyoming. Cattle were turned out and fattened on Wyoming grass and shipped by rail to eastern markets. Cattlemen discovered that, like the native buffalo, their stock could graze year-round on sparse but nutritious prairie grasses that cured on the stem in the dry climate. Ranchers settled along the major watercourses, and at first had only limited competition for the surrounding grazing lands. They raised primarily beef cattle, but often maintained sheep and a few dairy herds. Some of the original beef herds were stocked with Mormon cattle from the Salt Lake Valley and outlying Mormon settlements. Many herds were also driven back over the Lander Road from Oregon, and from Texas via eastern Wyoming and Colorado. The blizzard of 1889-1890—two years after the winter that killed so much stock in eastern Wyoming and Montana—wiped out many cattle herds in the Green River Valley on ranges already heavily overstocked. Ranchers gradually stopped depending on winter grazing for their cattle, cleared sagebrush in low areas and developed irrigation systems to grow natural hay for winter feed. In the late 19th century, cattle were shipped to market at three to four years of age. In the fall, cattle from Daniel, Big Piney and La Barge were trailed to Granger, on the Union Pacific Railroad near Rock Springs, a six-to-seven day drive. From there, they were shipped by rail to Chicago and later Omaha, Neb. When the U.P.’s subsidiary, the Oregon Short Line, was later constructed from Granger to Pocatello, Idaho, the nearest Sublette County shipping point became Opal in present Lincoln County, a five-day trail drive from the Big Piney area.
www.LiveJacksonHole.com
SUBLETTECOUNTY•WYOMING Cattle drives from the Cora-PinedaleBoulder area in the northeastern part of the county to shipping points farther east often took more than twice as long, from 10 to 20 days. These crossed the small Little Colorado Desert and much larger Red Desert to such points as Rock Springs, Wyo., and Wamsutter, Wyo. Many of the cattle from the upper Green River Valley were also driven to Opal. Starting in the late 1920s and early 1930s, ranchers began using trucks to haul cattle, although trailing cattle to market continued in the county into the early 1940s. Some of the earliest Sublette County cattle ranches still operate today with fifth or sixth generations running the businesses. Cowboys on horseback moving herds are still a common sight. This is particularly true on the Green River drift–the stock trail used since 1896 to move cattle from spring range in the southern end of the county to summer range on the U.S. Forest Service allotment in the upper Green River Valley and back again in the fall to the ranchers’ home places for winter. –––––– LOGGING. A new industry–the production of railroad ties--was brought to the area when the transcontinental railroad was built across southern Wyoming in 1867-1868. Two important factors enabled this industry: large stands of lodgepole pines in the mountains and many “drivable” streams and rivers for floating ties to the Green River City, where the Union Pacific crossed the Green River. Ties were cut for the initial railroad construction, but eventually an enduring replacement industry developed and lasted into World War II.
Ties were cut for the initial railroad construction, but eventually an enduring replacement industry developed and lasted into World War II. Ties were hand-hewn by skilled “tie-hacks” from Sweden, Norway, Finland and Austria. The hewn ties were delivered to market by huge drives when the ties were floated down the Green River and its tributaries with help from the tiehacks. These “river rats” often rode the logs down the stream, and were paid well for their dangerous, backbreaking labor. Centers of such activities included the Kendall tie camp on the upper Green River, organized in 1896, and big enough for its own post office by 1899. Supplying the tie camps with food and equipment brought more business to the area. Operations spread southward in the 20th century to the North and South Cottonwood Creek drainages in the Wyoming Range northwest of Big Piney. The tie industry flourished on the Cottonwoods throughout the 1920s and 1930s. Timber work moved north from there to North and South Horse Creeks in the 1930s. Ties were cut along both creeks and on Dry Beaver Creek near Daniel, where portable sawmills were in use by the late 1930s. Gradually, portable sawmills, chainsaws, tractors, road, and haul trucks replaced the broadax and tie drives. The era ended in 1940 when the Union Pacific stopped accepting hand-hewn, river-driven ties because they were too uneven and their quality inconsistent. Additionally, the railroad no longer wanted water-soaked timber as it was too hard to treat it effectively with preservative.
-307.699.3927-
CLIMATE Sublette County sits comfortably at 7,195 feet above sea level, with an average of 235 sunny days per annum. Average temperatures range in the mid to high 70’s during the summer months, and average lows of -5 in the heart of winter. The high mountain summer range on Rimfire Ranch provides for excellent irrigation in the summer for hay, rotational grazing, and lush summer pastures. The combination of high mountain springs, and summer glacial run-off provide consistent irrigation water in the spring, summer, and early fall for hay production and rotational grazing. Green River water rights provide ample irrigation even in the very dry years. Rimfire Ranch has some of the highest production conversion rates for yearling grazing weight gain rates on the ranch’s high protein native grasses in the lower 48. Climate
www.LiveJacksonHole.com
OPERATIONS Rimfire Ranch has been operated as a successful yearling operation, with an average stocking rate of 1,000 to 1,400 yearlings for the past 15 years. During the approximate 4 to 5 month grazing season, yearlings gain on average 250-325 lbs. Prior to being managed as a yearling operation, Rimfire Ranch was a comfortable 350-400 cow/calf operation. Livestock management is enhanced by an easily accessed and comprehensive set of corrals (including an indoor hydraulic chute and scale), and fenced in pastures and fields easily utilized for rotational grazing. Excellent grazing records, fishing ponds, swan ponds, rich grounds for hunting; deer, antelope, ducks, geese and moose. 5+ miles of Cottonwood Creek meanders year-around, and is easily irrigated with its early 20th century water rights. -307.699.3927-
www.LiveJacksonHole.com
ï‚–
- 307.699.3927 -
ï‚–
www.LiveJacksonHole.com
ï‚–
- 307.699.3927
Acreage Breakdown 1,120 +/- acres of deeded native range and riparian areas 2,479 +/- acres deeded irrigated meadow 3,599 +/- acres total deeded Grazing Leases 480 +/- acres of Wyoming State Lease An adjacent BLM grazing permit for 370 (AUMs).
www.LiveJacksonHole.com
- 307.699.3927 -
www.LiveJacksonHole.com
LOCALE
Daniel lies on US Route 189, in the Green River Valley. Horse Creek, a Green River tributary that joins the Green River just east of Daniel, has its headwaters west in the Wyoming Mountain Range. Rimfire Ranch is bordered on three sides by nearby mountain ranges in the northern part of the Green River Basin that defines much of Western Wyoming. Just west of Daniel at the confluence of the Green River and Horse Creek is one of the original rendezevous sites for the fur traders and Native Americans, known as Fort Bonneville, or “Fort Nonsense�. - 307.699.3927 -
OUTDOOR RECREATION There are endless recreational opportunities on Rimfire Ranch and the surrounding areas within Sublette County. With over 80% public land in Sublette County, Rimfire Ranch is surrounded by three mountain ranges that present hundreds of miles of hiking, horse back riding, snow machining, 4 wheeling, hunting, and fishing. Over 1300 named lakes in the county and millions of remote back country acres to explore. White Pine ski area is 20 minutes away, and nearly 100 miles of groomed cross country trails await your appetite for adventure. Rimfire Ranch offers any outdoor enthusiast unlimited recreational experiences.
www.LiveJacksonHole.com
FISHING
Rimfire Ranch has two channels of Cottonwood Creek running through the ranch providing nearly seven miles of fly fishing. In addition, the ranch has five ponds, two of which are historically stocked with Cutthroat and Brown trout. Cottonwood Creek is home to primarily Brown and Rainbow trout. There are a high number of riffle-pools providing excellent fish habitat. Many of these pools are 5-8 feet deep. In the surrounding areas of Sublette County, fishing is world class. Mackinaw, Rainbow, Cutthroat, Brown and Brook Trout, Kokanee Salmon, Mountain Whitefish, Graylings, and numerous other species reside in various waters around the county. - 307.699.3927 -
In a report by Managing Partner of Two Rivers Emporium, Mike Kaul, states: I am a fly fishing guide and operate a fly fishing guide service in Pinedale, Wyoming. I had fished on the Rimfire Ranch for short periods of time over the past few years, but recently I spent a concentrated amount of time walking both channels of South Cottonwood Creek that run through the Ranch. I focused on the stream conditions with an eye toward fish habitat and angler satisfaction. I covered about three-quarters of the Ranch’s approximately five miles of stream. The survey was conducted in early November with higher than normal water flow due to late fall high moisture events. My comments take into consideration that stream flows would be much lower in years that have more normal moisture levels. The average water temperature was forty degrees throughout the stream system causing the fish to hold deep in the water column and react lethargically to any type of lure. I have fished some stretches of this stream when water and surface temperature were in the sixty five degree range and the fish were much more active near the surface of the water. The stream generally lends itself to downstream drift and/or dead drift nymphing techniques. www.LiveJacksonHole.com
When warmer temperatures exist there are plenty opportunities to employ upstream surface drift tactics. The primary types of trout encountered during this survey were Brown and Rainbow. The following comments outline the general characteristics and fishability of three separate sections of South Cottonwood Creek which runs through the Ranch. I will mention that the Ranch has two trophy ponds which offer excellent shore and float fishing opportunities. The north branch from the Ranch’s west boundary down to the first diversion dam is characterized by low gradient, meandering stream with many oxbows. There area a high number of riffle pool sequences which provide good fish habitat and insect development. Many of the pools are five to eight feet deep, which even under lower water conditions will provide sufficient depth to hold three or four decent size trout. The bank structure is solid which indicates that good grazing practices are employed with domestic livestock. The riparian area projects good plant development which supports a well developed flood plane. Under cut banks and stream slide willows and shrubs provide good cover for the fish. A stream restoration project has created run which provides a good holding area for trout. This stretch of the stream would provide three to five hours of good fishing for a single angler. Access along the stream is generally good except for one cross fence located just passed the restoration project. The north branch portion of the stream below the bridge leading to the main Ranch complex starts with riffles and pools, but slows to a deep meandering pool just above a second diversion dam. This pool offers excellent depth cover for fish. During the survey fish were observed feeding in the upper part of the water column, a sign that there is good insect development in this area.
- 307.699.3927 -
There is a good pool below the diversion dam which produced a very nice brown trout on the day of the survey. Below the diversion pool the stream turns into a meandering series of oxbows featuring riffle-pool sequences. The initial depth of these pools run three to four feet; however, as you move downstream the depth of the pools increase to six to eight feet. There are shrubs and brushes along this section of the stream which provides good cover for the fish. The oxbows form excellent undercut banks which also proved good holding zones for trout. A single angler could easily spend three to five hours fishing this section of the stream. Pasture cross fences do impede the anglers progress along this portion of the creek. The third area surveyed in some detail was on the southern branch of Cottonwood Creek below the service bridge located southwest of the main ranch house. The stream width was somewhat narrower in spots than the north branch, but has the same basic riffle-pool characteristics as the north branch. There is evidence of reed development which acts as good cover for fish in mid channel holding areas. The riparian zone is in good shape and creates a good floodplain leaving the basic stream channel in good shape after spring high water event. The banks are stable and support good grass, shrub and brush growth. There are several places where man-made and natural in channel structures form good pools. Brown tout were taken in these pools during the survey. There are no impediments to stream access throughout this stretch of stream and an angler should be able to enjoy three to five hours of good fishing. www.LiveJacksonHole.com
- 307.699.3927 -
WILDLIFE
In 2004 Rimfire Ranch was the recipient of the Land Owner of the Year Award by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department in recognition of habitat restoration and stewardship. Abundant water supply coupled with a strong drive to conserve and protect the land, Daniel, Wyoming is a prime location to find an abundance of wildlife. This area is home to, deer, antelope (pronghorn), moose, elk, bald & golden eagles, sage grouse and osprey.
www.LiveJacksonHole.com
- 307.699.3927 -
www.LiveJacksonHole.com-
ï‚–
- 307.699.3927 -
OWNER’S HOME
www.LiveJacksonHole.com
- 307.699.3927 -
www.LiveJacksonHole.com
OWNER’S HOME INTERIOR
- 307.699.3927 -
GUEST HOME
www.LiveJacksonHole.com
GUEST HOME INTERIOR
- 307.699.3927 -
GUEST CABINS
www.LiveJacksonHole.com-
RANCH MANAGER’S HOME
- 307.699.3927 -
HISTORICAL BARN AND OUT BUILDINGS
www.LiveJacksonHole.com
- 307.699.3927 -
www.LiveJacksonHole.com
- 307.699.3927 -
www.LiveJacksonHole.com
TAXES 2016 estimated taxes $16,300 annually.
WATER RIGHTS Rimfire Ranch has superior water rights on nearly 2,500 acres, which are early 20th century rights out of both the Green River, and Cottonwood Creek.
MINERAL RIGHTS Sellers will convey 100% of mineral rights, if any, currently owned.
CONSERVATION EASEMENT The current owners have placed several conservation easements on various parts of Rimfire Ranch. These easements are not in conflict with continued ranching practices. For additional information please call the listing Broker.
- 307.699.3927 -
OWNERS STATEMENT
“Rimfire Ranch has been in our family for 19 years, the latest ranching operation in our family’s five-generation Wyoming ranching legacy. Our love for the land is reflected in our operating philosophy of always leaving the land better each year than the year before. We have prided ourselves in our conservation-oriented grazing operations, wetland improvements, and wildlife management. Although we strive to maximize production, we will not do it at the long-term expense of the land, infrastructure or wildlife that inhabit the ranch. The diversity and magnitude of wildlife on the ranch does not cease to amaze us with each passing year. Aside from the highly productive, water-rich aspects of the Rimfire, the remoteness and solitude that is found nearly everywhere on the ranch is an asset that is hard to replicate in today’s world. Rimfire’s unobstructed night skies, passing thunderstorms, smell of sage after rain and cool mountain air mornings are just a few of the things that we appreciate every day. We sincerely hope that the new owners of the Rimfire will find the same solitude, desire for wild places, love for agriculture, and appreciation of nature that we have enjoyed.”
www.LiveJacksonHole.com
“Don't give your son money. As far as you can afford it, give him horses. No one ever came to grief, except honourable grief, through riding horses. No hour of life is lost that is spent in the saddle. Young men have often been ruined through owning horses, or through backing horses, but never through riding them; unless of course they break their necks, which, taken at a gallop, is a very good death to die.� - Winston Churchill The Works Of Winston Churchill
Chopper Grassell 307.231.2603 Richard Lewis 307.690.8855 LiveJacksonHole.com