Jefferson Island Ranch WHITEHALL, MONTANA
Preface: In the midst of this offering is a ready to move-in ranch. A beautiful log home and guesthouse are nestled beneath towering cottonwoods with a dramatic view over the crystal-clear, trout-filled pond toward the majestic Tobacco Root Mountains. Across the manicured lawn and through the cottonwoods is one of the finest spring-fed fisheries in southwest Montana: Fish Creek. This is a peaceful and picturesque sporting paradise with an abundance of existing recreational opportunities and the potential to create more.
Jefferson Island Ranch WHITEHALL, MONTANA Introduction: The Jefferson Island Ranch is one of the most recreationally powerful ranches in the northern Rockies. Appealing to sportsmen and families alike, the ranch has something for everyone. The entire acreage of 1,650± also offers a healthy riparian corridor with 3.5± miles of frontage on the Jefferson River, over 3 miles of Fish Creek, a trophy spring-fed fishery, as well as a 1.5-mile stretch of Moose Creek, a spring-influenced creek. There is a wonderful mixture of mature cottonwood forests surrounding grassy parks, wetlands and streams. The ranch s four different bodies of water mean that the fishing is always productive. Whitetail deer are prolific, as are moose, turkeys, pheasants, ducks, geese, sandhill cranes and more. These sporting opportunities combined with an organically certified agricultural operation create a one-of-a-kind offering. Carlos Ordonez, Broker Toll Free 866.734.6100 Cell 307.699.3415 This is a co-listing with Fay Ranches. www.livewaterproperties.com
Sporting Opportunities combined with an Organicall y Certified Agricultural Operation
Location: Located less than an hour from the vibrant university town of Bozeman, Montana, 45 minutes from the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport and 30 minutes from the historic town of Butte, the Jefferson Island Ranch is easy to reach. The ranch sits 2 miles south of Whitehall and is accessed by a well-maintained county road. The house and guesthouse are located 3 miles from the ranch gate ensuring privacy in a pastoral setting. In addition to the solitude, local restaurants, groceries and the coffee shops of Whitehall are five minutes away. Whitehall is surrounded by a community of 1,167 people, and it is located at an elevation of 4,360 feet. The nearby Deerlodge National Forest has an endless system of trails, lakes and peaks to explore. The Madison, Jefferson, Big Hole, Beaverhead and Ruby Rivers are all located within an hour of town. World-class skiing is available at Big Sky Resort, Bridger Bowl Ski Area and Yellowstone National Park, which are 1.5 hours away. Both Butte and Bozeman have commercial airports that are serviced by major airline carriers. Alaska Airlines, United, Northwest and Delta service the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport along with smaller airlines such as Allegiant and Frontier. Direct service is continuously being added, with current direct flights to New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Minneapolis, Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Salt Lake. SkyWest/Delta Connection services the Bert Mooney Airport in Butte. Whitehall has a private airstrip at the Jefco Skypark Airport that is located one mile west of town. The turf runway is approximately 3,800 feet x 60 feet. Additionally, the nearby town of Three Forks is located approximately 30 minutes east of the ranch with a small public airport. The Three Forks runway is asphalt and approximately 5,100 feet x 60 feet. To learn more about these airports, visit www.airnav.com. Whitehall has its own community medical and dental clinics. All of the surrounding larger communities such as Bozeman, Helena and Butte have numerous medical clinics and hospitals. The Whitehall community hosts several events during the year. During the summer months on Saturdays, a farmer s market is held at the city park with homegrown produce, crafts and baked goods. The third weekend in July is celebrated with Whitehall Frontier Days, which includes a parade, community barbeque and three days of rodeos. In December, the annual Christmas Stroll is held with most of the town gathering to celebrate the season. Surrounding Whitehall are numerous other small communities that offer events throughout the year.
Improvements: Main House: The main residence is a beautiful log home consisting of approximately 4,700 finished sqft with 6 bedrooms, 1 full bath, 4 three-quarter-baths and 1 half-bath. The two loft bedrooms each have stone fireplaces and private baths. There is a stunning great room with 21-foot ceilings and a massive stone fireplace. Tremendous views look over the pond and waterfall with the Tobacco Root Mountains in the background. This is a wonderfully comfortable room, well appointed with tasteful western decor. There are 3 covered porches, front and rear for outdoor enjoyment. The rear area has a stone barbeque with a gas cook top. The main house also has an attached two-car garage that is connected to a carport, which is tied to an additional four-car garage. Guesthouse: Separated from the main house by a garage and carport is a lovely 2,100± sqft log guest home. The great room has 25-foot ceilings with a stone fireplace. Out front is a large covered gathering area with incredible views of the pond and mountains. Next to the guesthouse is a 1,700± sqft horse barn with covered stalls, tack room, storage and corral. Equestrian enthusiasts will enjoy these amenities with an enclosed 30-acre pasture. Manager s House: Located near the entrance to the ranch is the ranch manager s or caretaker s home. This log home is in good condition and is approximately 2,000 sqft with 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a stone fireplace. The log garage is separate from the home. Outbuildings: Barn: 40 x 80 pole frame Sale Barn: 38 x 48 with office, vet room, corral system, livestock scale Steel frame shop: 48 x 72 with a concrete floor, heat and electricity Quonset: 40 x 72 with concrete floor and electricity
Conservation Easement: Jefferson Island Ranch, with its unparalleled wildlife habitat and aquatic resources, would be an outstanding candidate for a conservation easement. They can be useful tools in keeping family farms and ranches intact and avoiding subdivisions, which could compromise the beauty of rivers and the value of the surrounding land. Conservation easements can also provide attractive tax benefits to the investor. A conservation easement fulfills different needs for various landowners. For one family, it may be the vehicle by which a farm or ranch is passed on to future generations. For another, it preserves the watershed of a prized trout stream or a wintering ground for elk. There is a story behind every conservation easement, but the underlying reason is the landowner s desire to preserve a special piece of land in perpetuity.
Ranch Operation: The ranch has a long history of productive agriculture. The ranch is certified organic with a turn-key lessee in place. The lessee, Willow Spring Ranch, manages all aspects of the agricultural operation, allowing the current owner to focus on recreational pursuits. Out of the 1,650 acres, the ranch controls the water rights to irrigate up to 832 acres of which 245± acres are currently under center pivot sprinkler irrigation with an additional 587± acres that can be flood-irrigated. The ranch could be operated a number of different ways. The following is how the ranch is currently operating. The ranch has three Valley center pivots: Pivot 1 covers 60± acres, will transition to organic; 2014 crop is forage oats, currently fertilized and weed controlled and forecasted to be organically certified in 2017. Pivot 2 covers 78± acres, will transition to organic; 2014 crop is feed barley, currently fertilized and weed controlled and forecasted to be organically certified in 2017. Pivot 3 covers 107± acres, is organically certified alfalfa consisting of orchard grass mix and was planted in 2013. The ranch is in an organic sheep program with Willow Spring Ranch, which consists of 400 resident ewes producing 600 lambs per annum. The ranch is implementing an organic and conventional cattle program for winter grazing only, typically December to March. This low-intensity program supports 60 to 100 head. The ranch is building toward full utilization of the resources and forecasts profitability from agricultural operations in 2 to 3 years. The sheep and cattle programs are tied to the ranch s wildlife and sporting goals by design. Summer grazing practices predominately use the pastures, with occasional targeted grazing in the riparian or woodland areas as a rangeland management and vegetation improvement tool only. Certain summer grazing areas utilize the sheep for weed control. Winter grazing is utilized to clean up or open areas of the ranch slated for vegetation improvement. The ranch s agricultural operation fully enhances the recreational pursuits that the ranch offers. Deer, pheasant, turkey, moose and various other animals that call the ranch home thrive because of the diversity that the ranch provides. This ranch has no wasted acreage; the combination of food, cover and water are what makes the land special and hard to replicate.
Live Water: Over eight miles of live water provide a variety of fishing experiences. This ranch has it all from riverbed and large spring creek to an intimate spring creek and a trout-filled pond. The ranch was featured on Trout TV in an episode seen here: https://vimeo.com/100434397. Jefferson River: The stretch of the Jefferson River that flows through the ranch is a phenomenal fishery that produces well in the fall, spring and early summer however will slow from approximately July 15th to September 1st. The river is known for big browns and due to the combined efforts of landowners, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, and Trout Unlimited, many of the river s spring-fed tributaries have been restored to enhance the spawning habitat for both brown and rainbow trout. As a result, the populations of rainbow and brown trout have been increasing significantly. Fly fishing the Jefferson River, as in other predominantly brown trout waters, requires using large streamer or nymphs to catch the larger fish. During the summer, popular choices include Muddler Minnows, Prince nymphs and Matukas. The Jefferson River does have solid hatches that can entice the fish to eat, but the larger fish will generally be caught on streamers and other large sub-surface flies. Some of the best fishing can be had in late summer using hoppers. The Jefferson River flows through good hopper country, including this ranch and other properties on the lower twenty miles where hay fields frequently come up to the bank. Hoppers floated right along the banks can often entice large trout up to the surface. Fish Creek: The ranch has approximately one mile of both sides of Fish Creek with an additional 2 miles of one side of Fish Creek. Fish Creek is a spring-fed fishery that is quite prolific throughout this stretch. As it enters the ranch it acquires river water and increases in size substantially. The habitat throughout the ranch s length of the stream varies from deep pools and riffles to long glides and slow streamer water. Last summer, this account was taken from the fishery during a pale morning dun hatch with caddis and golden stones. There were dry flies everywhere and big fish rising. I fished for only an hour and landed several fish in the 14-inch to 20-inch range, all on dry flies. I returned to fish the creek in late August and stripped streamers for a couple hours and myself and another angler had a similar experience. We landed several large trout, a mixture of browns and rainbows, all very fat. Even the 10-inch fish had shoulders on them. The largest fish we landed that day measured 19 inches, but later we saw three fish that made the 19-incher seem small. The next day we landed two 19-inch and two 21-inch browns. The experience was captured both in photos and on video. To view the link visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lukv4zixxdy. This is a large trout fishery. Few people have fished this stretch of water, therefore these are not educated trout.
Mineral & Water Rights: Mineral rights are not guaranteed. It is suggested that the Buyer conduct a mineral search with a title company. All appurtenant water rights will transfer. A water right is the right to use water, both surface and subsurface. In Montana, water rights are the rights to the use of water and not ownership of the water itself. Water rights may not automatically transfer with land. Water rights are available from the offices of Live Water Properties upon request. All water in Montana is property of the State of Montana for the use of the people of Montana. The actual ownership of water rights in Montana may not be known, as many water rights are still the subject of a statewide adjudication process. The transfer of water rights is recorded with the state s Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and the transfer of any right may or may not warrant that right until the adjudication process has been completed.
Live Water (Continued): Moose Creek: Moose Creek is a restored spring creek that flows through the middle of the ranch for approximately 1.5 miles. Moose Creek flows nicely through all four seasons and, thanks to an innovative restoration, the ranch owner has the ability to control the level of the creek. In addition to the pure spring water, the owners have the ability to add water from Fish Creek. With the added water, which comes from a head-gate directly on the ranch, Moose Creek flows can be in excess of 25 cubic feet per second. This reclaimed spring creek has multiple riffle, run and pool sequences that are filling in with trout. The owners expect that in the coming years the creek will fill in and mature into another world class fishery on the ranch. The Pond: Located within the ranch compound, the approximately 1.3± acre pond provides a wonderful aesthetic for the main house and guesthouse. The pond is fed by a recirculating stream fed by an underground well pumping 550 gallons per minute that features a beautiful double waterfall that adds the sound of tumbling water to the beauty of the grounds. The pond is stocked with west slope cutthroat trout and rainbows many of which have grown quite large. This is a wonderful place for visiting with friends and family while casually casting to cruising trophy trout.
Wildlife and Bird Hunting: Waterfowl: The waterfowl hunting on the ranch is excellent. The Jefferson River is a prolific flyway and attracts an abundance of mallards, teal, widgeon, gadwall and the occasionally pintail and wood duck. With the addition of some small grains to the ranch the population could be enhanced. Upland Birds: There exists a wild population of pheasants on the ranch that has been enhanced by the current owners agricultural operation, the addition of multiple food plots and the stocking of pheasants. So prolific are the pheasants, that the ranch is classified as a bird preserve for pheasants, which extends the hunting season until March 31st. This is an extension of 4 months. The cover and nesting habitat is tremendous, and the use of small grains as feed for upland birds has done wonders for the population. There are also a few covies of Hungarian partridge on the ranch. Over a hundred turkeys call the ranch home as well. Although one currently must put in to draw a tag, the current owners have averaged one tag per year. If one failed to draw a tag, the owner could charge for turkey hunting access.
Wildlife and Big Game Hunting: Deer: The Jefferson River Island Ranch has an abundance of wildlife. The whitetail deer hunting on the Jefferson River is well known as a trophy quality area. The ranch itself is known to hold bucks scoring in excess of 170 Boone and Crockett. This ranch has an ideal environment for deer as a result of the dense riparian habitat and agriculture. There have been very few deer harvested from the ranch in the past several years as the current owners have managed the herd for large genetics. Hunters will enjoy endless opportunities during bow and rifle season for friends and family to hunt the resident deer. For the sporting enthusiasts that do not want to share his/her secrets, there are B tags that are available overthe-counter. The previous owners have sold hunting access permits for $15,000 per year. Moose: The Jefferson Island Ranch not only provides excellent hunting pursuits for multiple bird species and whitetail deer, it also has a stable population of moose. An abundance of water, lush old growth willows and cottonwood forests on the ranch make for a perfect environment for all the wildlife - especially the moose. Moose tags are available by special draw only and acquiring one is difficult.
Jefferson Island Ranch Aerial Map Maps are for visual aid only; accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jefferson Island Ranch To pographical Map Maps are for visual aid only; accuracy is not guaranteed.
Summary: 1650± deeded acres located in Madison and Jefferson Counties Beautiful log home with accompanying guest home Outbuildings include main shop, horse barn, calving shed, and equipment storage shed Five groundwater wells on the ranch Three Valley center pivots irrigating 245 acres plus flood irrigation Organically certified, turn-key livestock operation in place 1.3± acre pond with trophy trout 3.5± miles of the Jefferson River 3± miles of Fish Creek, a trophy trout fishery 1.5± miles of Spring Creek 2 miles southwest of Whitehall Jefferson Island Ranch Location Map Maps are for visual aid only; accuracy is not guaranteed. 24 miles to Butte and 55 miles to Bozeman Excellent hunting for whitetail, pheasant, waterfowl and turkey Nearby recreational opportunities at the Deerlodge National Forest and five major rivers Notes: 1) This is an exclusive listing of Live Water Properties LLC and Fay Ranches; an agent of Live Water Properties or Fay Ranches must be present to conduct a showing. The owners respectfully request that other agents and/or prospective buyers contact Live Water Properties in advance to schedule a proper showing and do not attempt to tour or trespass the property on their own. Thank you. 2) Offering subject to errors, omissions, prior sale, change or withdrawal without notice, and approval of purchase by owner. Information provided herein is intended as a general guideline and has been provided by sources deemed reliable, but the accuracy of which we cannot guarantee. 3) Live Water Properties LLC and Fay Ranches represent the Seller as a Seller s Agent. PRICE: $9,000,000 TAXES: $7,874 in 2013 CONTACT: Please contact Carlos Ordonez of Live Water Properties to schedule a showing. This is a co-listing with Fay Ranches. www.livewaterproperties.com
Wyoming Montana Idaho Colorado Oregon Nebraska Jackson Hole, Wyoming 802 West Broadway, 83001 P.O. Box 9240, 83002 TOLL FREE (866)734.6100 www.livewaterproperties.com