BABBITT RANCHES

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AUGUST 2007 BABBITT RANCHES R Babbitt Ranches PO Box 520 s Flagstaff, AZ 86002 s 928.774.6199 s www.babbittranches.com

Transcript of BABBITT RANCHES

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AUGUST 2007

BA BBIT TRANCHESR

Babbitt RanchesPO Box 520 s Flagstaff, AZ 86002 s 928.774.6199 s www.babbittranches.com

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On a visit to Cedar Ranch Camp you would have no idea you’re in the middle of the desert. The 640-acre high-desert island on the CO Bar Ranch has springs running through it, 11 different species of trees and a unique dash of Arizona history.

This unusual parcel of private land, surrounded by the Coconino National Forest, became an important stage coach stop when some of the Grand Canyon’s first tourists enjoyed an authentic cowboy meal there. Now, besides its ecological and historical values, it has become an important property for open space values as well.

Babbitt Ranches, along with the Trust for Public Lands and the Arizona State Land Department, is seeking funding through Forest Legacy, a newly established conservation easement program, to protect the property from future development.

Forest Legacy is designed to promote, support and fund efforts to acquire land within the National Forest, land such as Cedar Ranch Camp.

Cedar Ranch Camp ForeverLittle by little, the entire 640 acres is expected to be protected as open space for public access and enjoyment into perpetuity. A portion of the property may earn this special designation by November.

Meantime, Babbitt Ranches is actively exploring more opportunities for open space and continued public access on other Babbitt properties.

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Log on to www.babbittranches.com and you will no doubt be impressed by the new look and efficiency of the user-friendly Web site.

Thanks to a makeover by Indigo 8, the site is a far more interactive resource for those accessing or updating information. The new design is particularly helpful for folks who are researching Babbitt Ranches horses and bloodlines.

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Get Caught Up in the Web

w w w. b a b b i t t r a n c h e s . c o m8

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8Tradition, character and excellence have been bred into Babbitt Ranches for more than a century. The values that make the people of Babbitt Ranches who they are and the characteristics that have shaped the organization into a lasting legacy now have been captured and articulated in a constitution comprised of five documents.

The Babbitt Ranches Constitution is designed to guide the future and reinforce the past. It serves as a touch-stone as opportunities and challenges are discussed and decisions are made.

The Conversation Council Creed serves as the foundation for Babbitt Ranches’ relationships and discussions. It is a reminder that diversity is what promotes better decisions, along with the ability to let go of the need to be right. “Our character will be demonstrated through our patience, kindness, humility, respectfulness, selflessness, forgiveness, honesty and resilience. We acknowledge that it is not our differences that may divide us, it is our judgments about each other that do,” the Creed states. The Babbitt Ranches Philosophy and Multiple Bottom Line focuses on learning and understanding, and assigns responsibility and obligation in order to grow as an organization. They integrate organizational, ecological, economical and community values into the organization’s decisions and include an Equity Model Development Outline, the framework for succession building and management.

Babbitt Ranches Adopts ConstitutionA Commitment to Tradition, Character, Excellence

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8Efforts Underway to Preserve Historic Stage LineThey had heard about the wide open spaces, the Painted Desert, the antelope, the bald eagle and the cowboys. And, of course, they had heard unbelievable descriptions of the Grand Canyon. But in the late 1800s, most folks in the United States lived east of the Mississippi and most of them didn’t travel beyond their home county.

The Grand Canyon-Flagstaff Stage Coach Line changed that. As easy as buying a train ticket, Atlantic & Pacific Railroad passengers could purchase a side excursion to the grandest canyon of them all.

“It was a major effort to travel in those days. Many people were seeing the West for the first time. They were awestruck. The whole experience of getting to Flagstaff was scenic and novel. Then the stagecoach passengers went through even more beautiful country to get to the Canyon. And finally, passengers took that first look into the gorge, where they had that unforgettable ‘Wow!’ experience. What a trip it was!” said historian Richard Mangum.

The primitive wagon road stretching from Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon opened the way for tourism in northern Arizona. The stage line survived only nine years, but in that short time it drove its mark into Arizona history.

Today, a group composed of the National Park Service, Forest Service, Babbitt Ranches and others is working to preserve the road, and that bumpy, dusty piece of the Old West.

“It’s pretty clear this trail helped shape what we see today at the Grand Canyon, in Flagstaff, on Babbitt Ranches and even with native cultures once tourists came to northern Arizona,” said Kim Watson, a National Park Service retiree who now works as a lecturer and instructor for the Eppley Institute for Parks and Public Lands at Indiana University.

“It was the first road or trail in northern Arizona built with the idea of recreation in mind,” said John Nelson, Forest Service recreation staff officer for the Peaks and

“Babbitt Ranches… are working to help people understand

and appreciate how things developed in this part of the

country.”

– John Nelson

Mormon Lake Ranger Districts. “Before that the Grand Canyon hadn’t really been discovered as a tourist destination. While Native Americans had known about it for centuries, there were mostly miners up there in the late 1800s, no tourists.”

John Hance was a miner with a vision. He and rancher William Hull began bringing visitors to the canyon in a buckboard. Hance built a tent camp on the South Rim for tourists who made the journey, a tiresome trip that took two days each way.

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Soon, businessmen and railroad officials realized the economic potential of attracting visitors to Flagstaff as The Gateway to the Grand Canyon. They improved the road and figured out how to make the trip to the canyon in one day with three relay stations to change out the teams of six horses. One stop was at Cedar Ranch on what is now the CO Bar.

“For early tourists, there was that sense of adventure. They’d arrive in Flagstaff on a train and trust their fates to these folks in a stagecoach,” said Watson. “They’d go to all that work to see their first view of the canyon. And words failed them.”

In Richard and Sherry Mangum’s book Grand Canyon-Flagstaff Stage Coach Line, they capture comments made by guests. Los Angeles Times writer Col. H. G. Otis wrote in 1895: The camp lies in a little depression near the rim of the canyon, which cannot be seen at all from the camp. Two minutes’ walk, however, carries the beholder up another short slope, and suddenly the awful majesty of the Grand Canyon is revealed to his startled vision. . .

By 1901, the railroad was running trains from Williams to the Grand Canyon. Not long after that automobiles began to make the trip. Soon, the stage line was just a memory in America’s transportation history. “There are places where the route is eroded and we are trying to figure out a way to protect and interpret the trail,” said Nelson. “Babbitt Ranches has a very keen interest and awareness of the history of the stage line. They are working to help people understand and appreciate how things developed in this part of the country.”

The group is exploring a historic trail nomination to protect the road, the structures and the 100-year-old artifacts. A non-motorized way to get into the park may be part of the plan to preserve the old route. “Babbitt Ranches has always been public-spirited and eager to participate in anything for the good of the community and the area,” said Mangum. “The Babbitts’ history demonstrates that time and again. With this background, making a recreational asset out of the old stage line is a natural fit.”

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Forty-one pedigreed colts and yearlings for sale, a crowd of anxious bidders, a hearty traditional cowboy meal and blue skies that stretch on forever over the Spider Web Ranch add up to another picture perfect Babbitt Ranches Colt Sale.

All of the fillies and horses were sold with the highest bid for $5,200 on a Dash for Cash bay. “I bought a bay colt last year for $8,400. I figure I got a deal this year!” said Jim Cave, a Kingman businessman who bought the horse. “I always go with Harvey’s pick.” Harvey Howell has been with the Babbitt Ranches horse program since 1971. “I really like the blood on that bay. When we caught him and handled him he showed a lot of quiet sense. Looking at him now, he’ll be 1,250 pounds when he’s mature. He’ll make someone a really nice roper.”

Oh Baby! Hundreds Come Out To See Babbitts’ Colts

Grey and Debbie Farrell of Tonalea were successful bidders on three fillies—a palomino, a sorrel and a bay. They bought two the year before. “We’re looking for a filly to breed our stud,” said Debbie. “We like the Sun Frost, Proudgun and Driftwood bloodlines for speed and ranch work,” said Grey.

Shawn Smith of Leupp came to the colt sale for the first time this year and bought a colt for rodeo roping competition. “It’s an investment. I think it will pay for itself.”

This was Debbie Hayes’ fourth year at the colt sale. While standing in line to purchase her buckskin for $2,400, she was offered $100 more to sell to another bidder. She turned him down. “I bought a filly last year and loved

Jim Jennings AQHA

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her temperament.” Hayes has a ranch in Desert Hills.

“I wasn’t looking to buy!” said Lisa Nelson of Flagstaff, a proud new owner of a buckskin colt. She and her husband, John, have been coming to the sale for the past decade. “It feels really great!”

Babbitt Ranches won the honor of Remuda of the Year from the American Quarter Horse

Association in 2005. “Even if we didn’t win the award, here’s what we consider winning. A lady will shake hands with me and tell me she bought a colt five years ago and say ‘that’s the nicest horse I ever could dream about.’ That’s what we’re looking for,” said Howell.

Babbitt Ranches’ horse breeding program dates back to the ‘40s. The organization enjoyed another successful colt sale this year with the help of auctioneer Ron Berndt. Babbitt Ranches is celebrating its 121st anniversary.

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Nearly $2 million in funding will help elk find water, pronghorn see predators and disappearing grasslands return. Babbitt Ranches has been awarded several grants obligating all three ranches to long-term land stewardship projects.

The largest, totaling some $900,000, affects the Espee and Cataract ranches and comes from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The Conservation Security Program grant focuses on the Havasu Canyon Watershed and calls for monitoring the area’s riparian corridors, air quality, water supply and distribution, and declining wildlife. It also commits landowners to large-scale regional planning.

“Funding for the Havasu Canyon Watershed will promote a relationship among Babbitts, the Havasupai Tribe, the Kaibab National Forest, the state and other landowners to

learn about and better understand the land, and to minimize impacts,” said Babbitt Ranches President Bill Cordasco. “It will enable us to improve areas that need improvement and enhance the overall health of the area.”

Babbitt Ranches also is joining forces with the Arizona Game and Fish Department on grant projects aimed at restoring historic grasslands on the CO Bar.

“The invasion of pinyon and juniper trees is a broad-scale problem for a lot of acres that used to be grassland,” said Arizona Game and Fish Department Landowner Relations Program Coordinator for Flagstaff John Goodwin. “The habitat that is being encroached upon is important for birds of prey, ferruginous hawks, burrowing owls, pronghorn, prairie dogs and migrating songbirds. When grassland becomes

Elk, Pronghorn, Hawks and Songbirds Benefit from Babbitts’ Projects

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woodland, these species suffer.”

Through the state’s Landowner Incentive Program, $280,000 has been identified for the removal of pinyon and juniper trees on 5,000 acres.

The Arizona Department of Agriculture also is focused on grassland restoration. Two grants, worth a total of $275,000, will fund another 5,500 to 6,000 acres of pinyon and juniper treatment.

A grant from the Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP) through the NRCS, obligates more than $93,000 to treat more than 1,200 acres of grassland that has been taken over by pinyon and juniper trees.

A second WHIP grant will fund the treatment of 1,200 acres in the amount of $97,000. Pinyon and juniper trees will be removed and water catchment tanks will be installed for wildlife.

And a third WHIP grant will provide $156,000 to restore grassland on 1,500 acres. A wildlife drinker will be installed, along with escape ramps in water tanks.

“These escape ramps are heavy steel mesh ramps that attach to the side of the tank,”

said Goodwin. “Tanks are 8- to 10-feet across and a couple of feet deep. If birds and small mammals fall in, there’s no way to get out, so they drown. These ramps will enable them to climb back out.”

On nearly all of these projects, the Arizona Game and Fish Department is providing funding.

“The Game and Fish Department has been a long-time partner with Babbitt Ranches,” said Goodwin. “Babbitt Ranches has always been enthusiastic about helping wildlife, especially pronghorn habitat. They go over and above what would be expected in doing what they can to help wildlife.”

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8A new face may be popping up on Babbitt Ranches’ Espee Ranch. The distinctive masked face of the black-footed ferret could be peeking out from prairie dog burrows if Arizona Game and Fish Department biologists find enough prairie dogs to sustain a population of the endangered species.

”The black-footed ferret is a highly specialized predator that primarily preys upon prairie dogs and lives in prairie dog towns or colonies. This predator cannot survive without prairie dogs,” said Carrie King, black-footed ferret program coordinator for the Arizona Game and Fish Department.

The two-foot-long endangered ferret was thought to be extinct, twice. In the late 1800s there was an effort to get rid of prairie dogs, because they were considered pests. In 1981, a rancher’s dog in Wyoming brought a black-footed ferret to its owner. Upon further investigation, wildlife biologists were able to locate about 150 black-footed ferrets living in the prairie dog colony on the ranch. However, after an epidemic of canine distemper and plague decimated the population, the last 18 black-footed ferrets were trapped and removed and the captive breeding program began.

Through the efforts of wildlife biologists, the black-footed ferret population has increased. Eleven years ago, 35 black-footed ferrets were released in the Aubrey Valley on the Boquillas Ranch, adjacent to Babbitt Ranches to the west. This became

the fourth of 11 reintroduction sites in the United States and the only one on

Move Over Prairie Dogs! A Masked Mammal May Be Coming to Town

Jennifer Cordova

Tagging . Project Photo

Mike Lockhart

Anesthesia . Project Photo

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private land. The grassland of the Aubrey Valley was selected because it has one of the highest concentrations of prairie dogs in Arizona.

Currently, King and other biologists are mapping prairie dog colonies on the Espee Ranch. They will be monitoring diseases like canine distemper and plague, which are deadly to prairie dogs and ferrets.

“Babbitt Ranches has expressed interest in bringing black-footed ferrets back to the Colorado Plateau,” said King. “This is a unique opportunity where reintroduction can occur on private land without effecting the local economy, land management practices or rural values. Prairie dogs like grazed land because they can see predators in the short grass and black-footed ferrets are self-sustaining wild animals.”

The agency is about halfway through the process of mapping prairie dog towns on the Espee Ranch. Information is expected to be available by October to determine if the area is biologically feasible for the reintroduction of black-footed ferrets.

“Babbitt Ranches are known for being excellent stewards of the land and have received a national award,” said King. “The Arizona Game and Fish Department and Babbitt Ranches have a long history of working well together.” The black-footed ferret is the only ferret native to North America. At one time the nocturnal creature scurried across all 12 western states.

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“Babbitt Ranches are known for being excellent

stewards of the land and

have received a national award.”

– Carrie King

Jennifer Cordova

Kit . Phoenix Zoo

JC Amberlin

Spotlighting . Internet Photo

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The Arizona Cattle Growers’ Association is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a centennial book. Keepers of the Range – The Story of the Arizona Cattle Growers’ Association traces the history of the state’s ranching families back to the early 1900s.

Book Captures a Century of Arizona’s Ranching Families

The book features a color painting by ACGA member Shawn Cameron and historic photographs from the Arizona Historical Foundation and the ACGA Matt Culley Photo Contest. Also included are sketches from ACGA member Kathy McCraine.

Ordinarily it would sell for $70; however, a grant from the Kemper and Ethel Marley Foundation is helping to cover the cost. Keepers of the Range is available now for $35 to ACGA, ACFA, ASC and AWPA members, plus shipping and handling.

Proceeds from the sale of the book will go to the ACGA and Arizona Cattle Industry Research and Education Foundation. For information about how to purchase a copy, contact the Babbitt Ranches Flagstaff office, 928-774-6199.

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The Land Ethic describes Babbitt Ranches’ role as a land steward. Babbitt Ranches is in the business of owning land. On that land the organization can do and has done many things including raising livestock, breeding quarter horses, preserving cultural and historic sites, harvesting gravel, providing recreational opportunities and improving wildlife habitat. Through it all is an obligation and responsibility to minimize impacts. “Health is the capacity of the land for self-renewal,” said Aldo Leopold. “Conservation is our effort to understand and preserve this capacity.” Sustainable Community Principles recognizes the importance of living off interest, not principal, and that growth ultimately is limited by the carrying

capacity of the environment in northern Arizona and the region. To Babbitt Ranches, sustainability applies to the future of the business, the communities and the land, and is the cornerstone of the Babbitt philosophy. In borrowing a quote from Abraham Lincoln, the Babbitt organization believes, “If we could first know where we are and whither we are tending, we could better judge what to do and how to do it.”

The overall Commitment to the Babbitt Ranches Constitution is about Participation. As Lincoln said, “We do the very best we know how—the very best we can; and we mean to keep on doing so until the end. If the end brings us out wrong, then ten angels swearing we were right would make no difference.”

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8Jim Jennings AQHA