The Nature Conservancy buys Moen Ranch

by Anna Means

The group doesn’t intend to hold onto most of the property, but will sell the bulk of it to private holders. They will also sell river access to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game for public fishing, hunting and recreation.

In a press release issued December 3, TNC officials said Moen’s ranch provides critical spawning habitat for chinook salmon, steelhead and bull trout. Over the past five years, the ranch has accounted for 40 percent of the chinook spawning redds in the Pahsimeroi Valley.

“While over 90 percent of the lands in Upper Salmon River basin are in public ownership, 90 percent of the occupied anadromous fish habitat is found on private lands. This purchase will help protect wild salmon and many other wildlife species,” Mark Davidson, TNC’s Central Idaho manager, said in the press release.

The purchase consists of two parcels of the Moen Ranch. There’s the 1,040 acre Pahsimeroi Valley ranch that is home to anadromous fish, big game and a wide range of songbirds. The 760-acre Hat Creek piece has the 45,000-acre grazing allotment, plus habitat for bull trout, sage grouse, bighorn sheep, elk and other critters.

TNC said it will work with the BLM and a new permittee (once one is found) to achieve land health goals while running livestock on the range.

Davidson told The Messenger they are working on changing water use on the Pahsimeroi Ranch. He said the goal is to secure sufficient flows for fish to move up and down the river. This is usually done through a water market agreement when the landowner retains water rights but leases some of them to the state.

TNC already holds a 528-acre conservation easement for property adjacent to the Moen ranch near the upper fish hatchery.

TNC says it is working with local landowners to sell the ranch. They intend to place conservation easements on those private acres to protect wildlife habitat.

Davidson, in the press release, said it gives local ranchers an opportunity to buy land in the valley. He told The Messenger TNC would work closely with buyers and the whole community to keep the property as a ranch.

He said the Custer County commissioners aren’t too thrilled with the plan to put river access into public ownership. He said he understands their concerns, but does believe the newly opened acres will be a community asset.

Davidson said the Upper Salmon Basin Watershed Project gave TNC technical advice and helped find funding for the transaction. Fish and Game became part of the deal when they said they were interested in buying river access. The Custer County Soil Conservation District has helped in irrigation and water conservation plans.