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Dying wish is elk foundation's gain
The 211-square-mile Double H Ranch is located directly to the east of Datil, New Mexico, and has recently been bequeathed to the Missoula-based Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
By DARYL GADBOW of the Missoulian
7/9/02
Man leaves ranch, trust to conservation group
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has received gifts of land in the past, but nothing to compare with the sprawling New Mexico ranch that recently was bequeathed to the Missoula-based conservation organization.
Foundation officials on Monday announced formal acceptance of a gift of the 211-square-mile Double H Ranch, with an appraised value of $17.5 million, plus a $4 million cash endowment to manage the property in the future.
Bob Torstenson, a RMEF member who died of cancer in May at the age of 51, selected the foundation to carry on his dream of preserving the ranch as a haven for wildlife and people who enjoy the outdoors.
Torstenson was a retired businessman who owned a tool-making company in Rockford, Ill. He and his wife, Leslie, acquired the New Mexico ranch in 2000.
The gift, said Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation public relations director Steve Wagner, is one of the largest ever received by any conservation organization.
Since it was founded in 1984, the RMEF has helped preserve more than 3.8 million acres of critical wildlife habitat, according to Dan Walker, the organization's vice president for conservation lands. During that time, he said, the foundation has received 14 gifts of land.
"I think the largest was about 40 acres," Walker said. "We think this is the beginning of something very special."
Foundation officials have had discussions with another rancher who is interested in donating his 10,000-acre ranch to the group, Walker added.
Rich Lane, the RMEF president and CEO, said he was honored to accept Torstenson's gift on behalf of the organization's 138,000 members, conservationists and "elk hunters everywhere."
"We don't have a lot of heroes in the world of conservation anymore, sadly," said Lane. "But Bob, and people like Bob, are my conservation heroes."
The Double H Ranch, also known as the Torstenson Family Wildlife Center, is located in the arid high country of westcentral New Mexico between Magdalena and Datil, a two-hour drive southwest of Albuquerque. The ranch is noted for its elk, especially its large-antlered bulls. Other wildlife that thrive on its 135,129 acres include mule deer, pronghorn antelope, morning doves, scaled quail, Gambel's quail, Mearns quail, Merriam's wild turkey, waterfowl and shorebirds.
Torstenson was worried about America's land legacies, according to Wagner. Large ranches were being broken up, fenced and cross-fenced, subdivided and developed, with each new generation of heirs.
Torstenson, Wagner said, believed that landowners have a responsibility to others who love wild and unbroken horizons. Torstenson believed that permanent land protection is the only solution.
"Bob believed large tracts of unbroken land are slipping away," said Jan Ohlander, a friend of Torstenson's. "He wanted to change a mind-set among people of means and encourage them to consider similar opportunities to protect and pass on properties that provide a legacy for future generations. Bob wanted the Double H Ranch to be both an inspiration to other landowners, and a challenge to the Elk Foundation to expand its vision and capabilities for protecting larger and more critical chunks of habitat."
Torstenson's estate is being settled, said Lane, and the foundation won't take possession of the property until sometime in 2003.
Meanwhile, he said, RMEF officials will develop a management plan for the ranch.
The Double H Ranch is home to about 300 elk, Walker said. Under Torstenson's aggressive wildlife management operation, he said, the elk population had increased sixfold in recent years.
Elk hunting on the ranch has been under the management of an outfitter, according to Walker. Hunting is limited to hunters who drew a special permit for the district in New Mexico, and also was primarily restricted to primitive weapons, such as muzzleloader and bow and arrow.
"It was managed as a very high-end, quality hunting experience," Walker said. And hunting is an important source of income for the ranch.
However, Walker added, RMEF officials hope to make some limited public hunting available on the ranch. That was something envisioned by Torstenson, a passionate hunter in addition to being a dedicated conservationist, said Walker.
RMEF might offer hunts at the ranch through a national raffle, he said, that would allow the average hunter a chance at a dream hunt, while also raising money for the organization.
In Torstenson's declaration of trust for his ranch, he wrote:
"It is my strong belief that our young people and future generations should have opportunities to hunt and fish in wild places, and that wise conservation and management of such places will promote the continuation of a tradition of lawful hunting and fishing, which has meant so much to me. It is my desire that the Double H Ranch be transferred to an organization that will benefit wild elk and other native game and plant communities. ... the Double H Ranch and all improvements thereon shall be gifted by distribution, transfer, assignment, or otherwise to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation."
Reporter Daryl Gadbow can be reached at 523-5264 or at dgadbow@missoulian.com
The 211-square-mile Double H Ranch is located directly to the east of Datil, New Mexico, and has recently been bequeathed to the Missoula-based Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
By DARYL GADBOW of the Missoulian
7/9/02
Man leaves ranch, trust to conservation group
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has received gifts of land in the past, but nothing to compare with the sprawling New Mexico ranch that recently was bequeathed to the Missoula-based conservation organization.
Foundation officials on Monday announced formal acceptance of a gift of the 211-square-mile Double H Ranch, with an appraised value of $17.5 million, plus a $4 million cash endowment to manage the property in the future.
Bob Torstenson, a RMEF member who died of cancer in May at the age of 51, selected the foundation to carry on his dream of preserving the ranch as a haven for wildlife and people who enjoy the outdoors.
Torstenson was a retired businessman who owned a tool-making company in Rockford, Ill. He and his wife, Leslie, acquired the New Mexico ranch in 2000.
The gift, said Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation public relations director Steve Wagner, is one of the largest ever received by any conservation organization.
Since it was founded in 1984, the RMEF has helped preserve more than 3.8 million acres of critical wildlife habitat, according to Dan Walker, the organization's vice president for conservation lands. During that time, he said, the foundation has received 14 gifts of land.
"I think the largest was about 40 acres," Walker said. "We think this is the beginning of something very special."
Foundation officials have had discussions with another rancher who is interested in donating his 10,000-acre ranch to the group, Walker added.
Rich Lane, the RMEF president and CEO, said he was honored to accept Torstenson's gift on behalf of the organization's 138,000 members, conservationists and "elk hunters everywhere."
"We don't have a lot of heroes in the world of conservation anymore, sadly," said Lane. "But Bob, and people like Bob, are my conservation heroes."
The Double H Ranch, also known as the Torstenson Family Wildlife Center, is located in the arid high country of westcentral New Mexico between Magdalena and Datil, a two-hour drive southwest of Albuquerque. The ranch is noted for its elk, especially its large-antlered bulls. Other wildlife that thrive on its 135,129 acres include mule deer, pronghorn antelope, morning doves, scaled quail, Gambel's quail, Mearns quail, Merriam's wild turkey, waterfowl and shorebirds.
Torstenson was worried about America's land legacies, according to Wagner. Large ranches were being broken up, fenced and cross-fenced, subdivided and developed, with each new generation of heirs.
Torstenson, Wagner said, believed that landowners have a responsibility to others who love wild and unbroken horizons. Torstenson believed that permanent land protection is the only solution.
"Bob believed large tracts of unbroken land are slipping away," said Jan Ohlander, a friend of Torstenson's. "He wanted to change a mind-set among people of means and encourage them to consider similar opportunities to protect and pass on properties that provide a legacy for future generations. Bob wanted the Double H Ranch to be both an inspiration to other landowners, and a challenge to the Elk Foundation to expand its vision and capabilities for protecting larger and more critical chunks of habitat."
Torstenson's estate is being settled, said Lane, and the foundation won't take possession of the property until sometime in 2003.
Meanwhile, he said, RMEF officials will develop a management plan for the ranch.
The Double H Ranch is home to about 300 elk, Walker said. Under Torstenson's aggressive wildlife management operation, he said, the elk population had increased sixfold in recent years.
Elk hunting on the ranch has been under the management of an outfitter, according to Walker. Hunting is limited to hunters who drew a special permit for the district in New Mexico, and also was primarily restricted to primitive weapons, such as muzzleloader and bow and arrow.
"It was managed as a very high-end, quality hunting experience," Walker said. And hunting is an important source of income for the ranch.
However, Walker added, RMEF officials hope to make some limited public hunting available on the ranch. That was something envisioned by Torstenson, a passionate hunter in addition to being a dedicated conservationist, said Walker.
RMEF might offer hunts at the ranch through a national raffle, he said, that would allow the average hunter a chance at a dream hunt, while also raising money for the organization.
In Torstenson's declaration of trust for his ranch, he wrote:
"It is my strong belief that our young people and future generations should have opportunities to hunt and fish in wild places, and that wise conservation and management of such places will promote the continuation of a tradition of lawful hunting and fishing, which has meant so much to me. It is my desire that the Double H Ranch be transferred to an organization that will benefit wild elk and other native game and plant communities. ... the Double H Ranch and all improvements thereon shall be gifted by distribution, transfer, assignment, or otherwise to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation."
Reporter Daryl Gadbow can be reached at 523-5264 or at dgadbow@missoulian.com
