Some fear pristine Marias ranch donated to church will be snatched from FWP despite clause
Source: Great Falls Tribune Online, by Michael Babcock
June 25, 2007
When Charlie Lincoln died in March at 84, he left his 10,000-acre ranch along the Marias River to the Catholic Church on one condition — if the church sells it, the state gets first crack at it.
Officials with the state Fish, Wildlife & Parks Department say the ranch is an incredible piece of property, with 14 miles of river bottom little changed since Meriwether Lewis walked by in 1806.
But some northcentral Montana residents fear the state might get outbid, especially if the property winds up on the Cabela's Trophy Properties Web site.
Some sportsmen have gone so far as to send back their Cabela's catalogs because, they say, the Nebraska-based retailer is threatening the tradition of public access in Montana.
Their fears were heightened by the recent sale of the 29,000-acre Dovetail Ranch northeast of Lewistown after it was listed on the Trophy Properties Web site.
"I have heard that some real estate agents affiliated with Cabela's have been involved with or are interested in the Lincoln property," Jeff Hagener, Fish, Wildlife & Parks director, said last week.
Shelby sportsman Mike Sherrard says the fate of the Lincoln ranch is a hot topic.
"It is on the tongue of every sportsman in the area," he said.
Sherrard, a member of the North Marias Landowner/Sportsman Association, says he has sent his Cabela's catalog back.
"The sportsmen of the state need to understand that purchasing goods and materials through Cabela's is causing a stranglehold on our hunting and fishing in the state of Montana," Sherrard said.
Sherrard says he has worked for public access since 1975 and says he sees the purchase of Montana ranches by wealthy out-of-staters "a direct negative for people to have hunting access on private land."
Cabela's spokesman David Draper said Friday that Cabela's isn't buying and selling property.
"Yes, we are offering a marketing vehicle. But this is private property transferred to private owners," Draper said.
"This ranch is going to sell no matter if it is through Cabela's or not," Draper said.
"The people we are selling these properties to are sportsmen. They probably are going to make the land better," Draper continued. "It is not just some Hollywood star coming out to buy the ranch."
The Cabela's spokesman pointed out that allowing access to hunters and anglers has always been up to the private landowner.
"It was before Cabela's was involved, and it will be afterward," Draper said.
Pristine property
Wildlife biologist Gary Olson of Conrad is intimately familiar with the Lincoln Ranch and says it is nearly unique among properties in Montana.
"It is probably one of the largest tracts of undeveloped riparian habitat, certainly on the Marias River and probably on many of the major river systems in the state," Olson said.
"You can float from one end to the other and not see crops, sprinklers or farmsteads. It is pretty remote. If you wanted to travel back in time to see what Meriwether Lewis saw on his return trip, this would be the place."
The property provides ideal habitat for white-tailed deer, mule deer, sharp-tail grouse, a host of waterfowl species, wild turkeys and pheasants, according to Olson, and there are antelope on the east end.
"There are several oxbows that are partially filled. It is a true river there. That is part of what excites me about it — it hasn't been developed in any way," Olson said.
The land starts downstream from where Birch, Badger and Two Medicine creeks form the Marias River and ends about five miles west of where Interstate 15 crosses the river. Before the European expansion, it was Blackfeet territory.
Olson said he is unsure of the significance of the area to the Blackfeet Indians, but he thinks they are using it now.
"There is a sweat lodge there now that is being used. I am not sure who is using it. I would assume it is Blackfeet. I know Mr. Lincoln allowed the Blackfeet to come down and use it," Olson said.
"I would just love to spend some time with an archaeologist out there. Very little of the property has ever been broken," Olson said.
High on FWP's list
The property has yet to be appraised, but it is high on the list of a dozen or so properties that Fish, Wildlife & Parks wants to acquire under a Montana Habitat program.
That program received a one-time $10 million infusion from Gov. Brian Schweitzer's budget proposal, passed during the special session.
Hagener said the Lincoln Ranch includes 7,540 deeded acres as well as leased property from the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and the federal Bureau of Land Management.
"It gives access to other parcels and if the whole deal came together, it would have access to 10,700 acres," he said.
A spokeswoman for the Diocese of Helena would not discuss specifics of Lincoln's estate, which will be settled through a probate hearing in July. But she did say that the state gets first shot.
"The state of Montana is specifically named as having right of first refusal," said Renee St. Martin Wizeman, communications director for the Diocese of Helena. "I cannot give information on (the amount of the bequeathal) because we still have to go through probate.
"I would term it a substantial bequest," St. Martin Wizeman said.
Hagener said the will says that if the church does not choose to hold the property, FWP has the right to meet the high bid.
"The question becomes how is the right of first refusal exercised?" Hagener said. "Do you go through a bidding process or do you go through an appraisal process?"
FWP has contacted the Catholic Church and made it known that the agency wants to discuss an agreement over the land.
"They understand we are very interested and will be getting back to us at the appropriate time," he said.
Olson said there is a fear that an outfitting/real estate brokerage firm will place a bid on the property that FWP cannot match.
"The fear is that it would be Cabela's, but it could be anybody like that," Olson said. "There are a lot of rumors."
To see what other Montana properties are for sale through the Cabela's brokerage, go to www.cabela's.com and under 'other departments' click on Trophy Properties. You will find more than 75 Montana properties listed — a few of them marked "sold."
Lewistown sale pricey
Earlier this year, a New York company affiliated with Cabela's Trophy Properties purchased the Weaver Ranch, also known as the Dovetail Ranch, in the Missouri Breaks northeast of Lewistown.
That land is home to trophy bull elk, mule deer and antelope. The Fergus County Clerk and Recorder shows that the property mortgage was $6.6 million. The deed filed in Petroleum County names the owner as Western Skies Land Co. LLC of Camden, N.Y.
The address is home to Daniel Christmas, whose company is a participating broker with Cabela's Trophy Properties. The Lewistown News-Argus reported that an employee of Christmas and Associates requested maps of the property.
Olson, by the way, is among those who sent his Cabela's catalog back.
"I am one of them — damn right!" Olson said "I have been exchanging e-mails with the head of their Trophy Lands division. He basically says they are not in the real estate business. You can play semantic games but tell us what happened with the Dovetail Ranch.
"But holy man! To say they are not involved in real estate — maybe they are not buying and selling it but they are certainly brokering these properties. That really aggravates me as a sportsman," Olson said.
"On the one hand, they are peddling their merchandise and then on the other hand they are taking away the ground where we can utilize what we buy," Olson said.
Not just Cabela's
In April, the Tribune's business section reported on the trend of outfitters jumping into the real estate business.
That article quoted Cabela's broker Thor Sichveland as saying, "Cabela's want to have their customers happy, whether they're buying sporting goods from them or property from me."
That article prompted Hagener to write to Cabela's.
"We had concern that they themselves were purchasing properties and they responded that they were not in real estate business. All they are doing is acting as a broker," Hagener said. "I expressed the concern that we have a strong tradition of public use and being good neighbors as opposed to properties going into exclusive use."
Hagener said it isn't fair to label Cabela's as the problem because the trend has been there for a while.
"Montana real estate is primo right now," he said. "There is a very lucrative real estate market."
Three years ago, FWP helped produce "Owning Eden" and the "Path to Eden," which are aimed at new landowners in Montana. The films encourage neighborly values and working cooperatively to manage wildlife, weeds and other issues.
But Hagener said the agency is concerned that as more properties become extremely limited or exclusive in their use, the average person loses out. There also is the problem of game management. If access is lost, FWP is blocked from managing wildlife on that land.
As an example, a private landowner who does not allow elk hunting soon has a herd of elk on his land during hunting season. After the season, the elk leave that land for neighboring land and can damage the neighbor's haystacks, crops and fences.
"My emphasis with Cabela's and other groups has been, 'how can we work with you?' What kind of things do work better in getting you to be involved more, to allow more access?'"
Reach Tribune Outdoor Editor Michael Babcock at triboutdoors@greatfallstribune.com, at 406-791-1487 or 800-438-6600.
