Schindler Ranch

Listing Price: $8,990,000

The Schindler Ranch is located five miles outside of the small ranching community of Jackson in Beaverhead County. With several streams, lakes and the surrounding Beaverhead and Pioneer Mountains, Jackson is a recreational paradise for fishing, hunting and hiking and winter activities such as skiing and snowmobiling. Dillon, with a population of approximately 4,000 people, is a short 50-minute drive from the ranch and is best known for its panoramic mountain views, friendly people and wide open spaces. There is a 6,500 foot airstrip located 4 miles east of Dillon for public air service and a commercial airport servicing Delta and Alaska Airlines one and a half hours north in Butte.

Comprised of approximately 3,054 deeded acres, the Schindler Ranch offers fertile river bottom, wide open pastures and big mountain views of the Beaverhead and Pioneer Mountain Ranges. This picturesque setting is complimented by two miles of riparian corridor on both sides of the upper Big Hole River with expansive tracts of aspen groves and conifer stands on the western portion. The ranch is currently an operational cattle ranch with good hay production, excellent water rights, newly-enhanced irrigation canals, two newly stocked ponds and a number of in-progress river enhancement projects. The Schindler Ranch acreage can be described as two diverse terrains split by the Big Hole River, the first consisting of 2,610 acres irrigated pasture, 275 acres of irrigated hay and 215 acres of range land ideal for a cattle operation. The ranch currently runs June through November in two herds of 900 pairs and typical hay production of 300 tons per year.

The Schindler Ranch provides excellent brook trout fishing, along with rainbows and browns, on the two miles of Upper Big Hole River. A stream restoration project has recently been completed on approximately ¼ mile of the Upper Big Hole River in order to increase trout populations. Additional projects are scheduled for 2008. The Upper Big Hole contains the last stream-dwelling population of Arctic grayling in the lower 48 states, which has prompted many to participate in the protection of this valuable population. The restoration activity on the Schindler Ranch is in accordance with a state and private owner plan to provide habitat for Fluvial Arctic Grayling.

Improvements on the Schindler Ranch include a recently upgraded and remodeled homestead serving as the ranch manager's home (which was an original log cabin from the early days of the Big Hole Valley's settlement), and a newer home located along the river corridor which functions as the main ranch home. The main ranch house is approximately 3,200 square feet with gracious living space, five bedrooms, two bathrooms and a bonus room for additional guests. There is also a beautiful historic barn located near the main house with several outbuildings including a shop, sheds and calving barns.

The Schindler Ranch and Big Hole Valley are home to a large amount of big game such as Whitetail and Mule deer, moose and elk. The water sources on the ranch are valuable for attracting big game, as evident from the large number of elk that reside on the property and nearby National Forest.

Due to the eco-sensitive nature of the property, the Schindler Ranch could provide substantial tax benefits to an incoming owner who places a conservation easement on the property. Strict county regulations on land splits and further abilities to subdivide ecologically important properties in the valley and along the river corridor make this property a prime candidate.