Wildlife is not only valued, but valuable.
“In the early 1900s, Americans began to value our wildlife resources as President Theodore Roosevelt led the charge that brought the nation’s big game and game bird species back from the brink of extinction,” said Matt MacMillan, an Associate Broker for Live Water Properties based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. “Over time that appreciation has grown, which means that today wildlife has become a quantifiable asset that adds value to a property as well as a treasured natural resource.”
MacMillan is a lifelong student of wildlife. He grew up in the mountains of New Hampshire hunting, flyfishing and skiing. After graduating from University of New Hampshire with a degree in wildlife management/environmental conservation, he moved to the Mountain West to pursue his passions and landed in Jackson Hole, where he has now lived 27 years.
Despite a lifetime of studying and appreciating wildlife, the results of a survey of visitors to Jackson Hole surprised him. In the heart of national parks, world-class downhill skiing and luxury amenities, visitors identified wildlife viewing as the number one reason they came to the area.
“Those findings underscored how essential wildlife is to the American experience—and that directly translates into recreational ranch real estate,” MacMillan said.
Recreational, sporting, and wildlife ranches, like beach houses or luxury ski residences are not necessities, but emotion-based purchases driven by the human need for connection. These properties generally create the opportunity to connect people and the outdoors. For those seeking a recreational wildlife ranch, the presence of wildlife is a driving factor.
“Whether people want to see elk in their valley, catch fish in their front yard stream or hike through their own forestland with binoculars and cameras in tow to see what they can see, it fills an emotional need for people,” MacMillan said. “The presence of wildlife creates an emotional attachment to the land and the greater outdoors, which doesn’t happen with any other investment.”
Hunting for a Recreational & Wildlife Ranch
Not everyone who buys a wildlife ranch is interested in hunting, but many land buyers are. While every buyer, every piece of property, and every transaction is different, some aspects of the process remain the same.
“Before buyers even start their search for a hunting ranch, they need to determine what their goals are for land ownership,” MacMillan said. “Their goals are going to establish the parameters of their search—and help their land professional find the piece of property that fits.”
Potential landowners need to ask themselves a few questions:
- What species do I want to pursue? Elk and mule deer need different habitat than upland game birds, waterfowl or trout.
- Will hunting or fishing on the property be limited to family and friends or will it be a commercial venture? Infrastructure requirements, especially lodging, will be different if commercial hunting is the objective.
- Do I want a turnkey property, or do I want to invest time, effort and money in enhancing the land’s natural productivity? Land and wildlife management is never done, but ranches like houses, vary. Some are move-in ready while others are “fixer uppers.”
While the answers to these questions will dictate the specifics of the property search, some basics hold true across species. For hunting and wildlife ranches, it’s not just location, location, location, but habitat, habitat, habitat.
“Every living thing needs ‘groceries’, water and cover,” MacMillan said. “The proportion and type of ingredients in the recipe depends on the species. The beauty of wildlife management is that we can manipulate the habitat in ways that benefit the preferred species and make them want to call it home.”
Working with a knowledgeable land professional, who not only understands your goals but also understands wildlife and habitat management, is essential to a successful search. They can help assess a property’s status as well as its potential.
Elk, for example, need dark timber, reliable water and nutritious grazing. With decades of experience, MacMillan recognizes when the timber needs to be thinned to optimize the light and space, when meadows can be revitalized by a prescribed burn and when a well-placed alfalfa patch can help elk stay on a ranch instead of traveling to the neighbors’ places.
“While I nor any of my colleagues at Live Water Properties do the management ourselves, we pride ourselves on being able to put our clients in touch with the best land management specialists in the business,” said MacMillan, noting he’d built his network over three decades in the business. “Through our network, we can help you meet your goals and ensure that your wildlife is well managed.”
His boots on the ground experience also helps him to spot opportunities that others might miss. For instance, many people assume that great elk hunting requires thousands of acres. While that is generally true, MacMillan has helped people find notable exceptions. In several instances, he’s sold 300± acre ranches with big potential because they were located on a historic migration route, contained a preferred bedding ground or backed up to a vast national forest.
“There are honey holes for wildlife,” MacMillan said. “They’re not easy to find, but if you do find one then you can accomplish your desired outcome by owning the right piece instead of owning the wrong piece that is 20x that size.”
Landowner Tags and Other Insider Info
While not everyone buys a recreational ranch to hunt, those who do are rightfully interested in landowner tags.
“When it comes to landowner tags*, every state has a different set of rules and regulations—and they can get complicated,” MacMillan said. “It’s one more reason that you should align yourself with a broker who knows wildlife.”
The essential thing for landowners to know, especially if they are even remotely considering offering commercial hunts, is whether a state’s landowner tags are “transferrable” or “non-transferrable.” In general terms, transferrable tags can be shared or sold to hunters other than the landowners, while non-transferrable tags are to be used by the ranch owner and in some cases his or her family.
MacMillan illustrates the differences using his home state of Wyoming and Utah. In Wyoming, landowner tags are non-transferrable and available for the family only. With that said, landowners can allow hunters who have drawn a tag for the area where their ranch is located come onto the property and hunt. The ranch owners may charge an access fee.
On the other hand, Utah’s landowner tags are transferrable and the economic impact of selling hunts can be significant.
“Revenue from hunting can move the needle on an annual income basis and really help underwrite the costs of running a ranch,” said MacMillan, noting that some Utah landowners choose to offer guide services and lodging for hunters. “The opportunity to take a 400-inch elk is limited and highly coveted, so people will pay a premium to get that chance. In my experience, the presence of 300-inch elk can provide a seller with a 20 to 25 percent premium over a ranch that doesn’t have that resource.”
According to MacMillan, the best source of detailed information on landowner tags is the website of the game and fish agency in the state of interest. Game wardens and other state wildlife personnel can also provide valuable information as can well-informed land brokers.
Even if landowners aren’t interested in commercial hunting, developing a working relationship with local game wardens and state game biologists is a good investment of time. Both groups of professionals are integral in the way the state manages and allocates its wildlife resources.
For instance, the state of Wyoming uses a formula to allocate tags that is based on 2,000 animal use days per every 160 acres, and tags are only available to those with a minimum of 160 acres. Ultimately, though, it’s the local game warden’s discretion that verifies the allocation.
Wildlife biologists provide technical guidance and conservation opportunities. Case in point, MacMillan was working with Wyoming landowners soon after they purchased a ranch. The landowners wanted to install new fencing. The estimate was $250,000. They talked with a local wildlife biologist who told them about a funding program.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department, which is charged with managing wildlife resources on behalf of all Wyoming’s citizens, is a conduit for cost-sharing funds dedicated to wildlife conservation projects on private land.
The landowners’ desire to install wildlife friendly fencing on a historic mule deer travel corridor met the criteria for matching funds, cutting their costs dramatically.
“The project benefited the wildlife on the ranch for the benefit of the people of Wyoming who own the wildlife resource,” MacMillan said. “By having public support, the landowners working with the agency were able to not only save a sizable amount of money but they saved a large number of deer from getting tangled in fences and dying.”
Public-private partnerships are one more example of the multi-faceted value of wildlife. “Wildlife connects us to the essence of humanity while being a quantifiable asset that continues to add value to a property,” MacMillan said. “For so many reasons, wildlife is worthy of our attention.” Rare is the resource that intertwines emotion and economics.
*Requirements and regulations for landowner tags vary from state to state. For more information on landowner tags in Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming see:
Montana
https://fwp.mt.gov/buyandapply/hunting-licenses/landowner-preference-sponsor
Utah
https://wildlife.utah.gov/r657-43.html
Wyoming
https://wgfd.wyo.gov/licenses-applications/landowner-licenses
