Tim Delaney had no family history of ranching when he bought Rolling Thunder Ranch in Wyoming in 2010.
asserted
he → have → 2010
He and his wife had spent years visiting Colorado, but they wanted a property of their own where they could combine recreation with agriculture.
uncertain
they → spend → agriculture
Today, Delaney manages thousands of acres for wildlife, recreation and livestock.
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Delaney → manage → wildlife
Delaney, who lives in upstate New York, is also a principal in a heavy highway construction firm that builds large commercial wind farms and infrastructure such as roads and bridges, according to US Deprtament of Agriculture.
uncertain
that → live → Agriculture
His family had raised draft horses and some cattle on a small scale, but Rolling Thunder Ranch was his first major ranching experience.
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Ranch → raise → scale
The Wyoming property sits at about 8,500 feet and covers a landscape that Delaney describes as a large bowl surrounded by mountain ranges.
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Delaney → sit → ranges
The ranch provides habitat for a wide range of wildlife, including moose, grizzly bears, elk, deer, pronghorn, black bears, sage grouse, mountain lions and wolves.
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ranch → provide → moose
Since buying the property, Delaney has also worked on conservation projects.
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Delaney → buy → projects
With help from The Conservation Fund and the US Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), he has used conservation easements to protect the land.
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he → use → land
He has also regenerated aspen stands and replaced 20 miles of conventional fencing with wildlife-friendly fencing.
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He → regenerate → fencing
Bying the Delaney Wyoming ranch
Delaney said he and his family had been spending time in Colorado since the late 1990s.
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he → bye → 1990s
Over the years, the property they visited was gradually being sold in pieces, reducing their opportunities for hiking, hunting and fishing.
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they → visit → hiking
That led them to look for a property that could provide both recreational and agricultural uses.
uncertain
that → lead → uses
In late 2009, they found Rolling Thunder Ranch and decided to buy it.
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they → find → it
They completed the purchase in spring 2010.
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They → complete → spring
The family spends about 10 to 12 weeks at the ranch each year.
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family → spend → ranch
From November to mid-May, however, the property is usually covered by snow.
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property → cover → snow
A neighbouring rancher leases summer grazing rights on the land, and 600 head of yearlings grazed there in the year described in the Farmers.gov report.
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head → neighbour → report
For Delaney, the ranch stood out because of its landscape and wildlife habitat.
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ranch → stand → landscape
He said the property offers views of three mountain ranges and allows visitors to see almost the entire perimeter from its higher areas.
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visitors → say → areas
Deciding to conserve the area
Delaney said owning the ranch gave him an opportunity to become involved in conservation, even though his professional background is in construction.
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background → decide → construction
“As I said, I am in the construction business, so when you own a bulldozer for a living, you are not considered necessarily to be conservation minded,” he said.
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he → say → living
He said he approached improvements on the ranch with the same planning mindset he uses in construction.
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he → say → construction
That approach also led him to undertake wider conservation planning for the property.
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approach → lead → property
According to Delaney, the conservation work made economic sense as well as supporting the land.
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work → accord → land
He said it could benefit both the future value of the ranch and its agricultural operation.
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it → say → ranch
“Our experience has been that conservation can certainly go hand-in-hand with ranching- they are mutually beneficial,” Delaney said.
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Delaney → go → ranching-
His work with The Conservation Fund began after Luke Lynch, then the organisation’s Wyoming state director, contacted him.
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Lynch → begin → him
Lynch explained how conservation easements could help landowners protect working properties.
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landowners → explain → properties
Lynch also connected Delaney with funding from the NRCS.
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Lynch → connect → NRCS
The funding was used for conservation easements that helped protect working land on the ranch.
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that → use → ranch
More than 7,900 acres covered
Delaney and his partners eventually completed three bargain sales of conservation easements covering several connected pieces of land.
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Delaney → cover → land
The first covered the original 3,600 acres of Rolling Thunder Ranch.
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first → cover → Ranch
A few years later, Delaney purchased another 4,000 acres at Rim Ranch, which was also included in the conservation work.
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which → purchase → work
A further 340-acre former subdivision lot, called Rolling Thunder II, was also protected.
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lot → call → ?
Together, the three properties cover 7,940 acres.
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properties → cover → acres
The 340-acre Rolling Thunder II property has particular importance for migrating mule deer and pronghorn.
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property → have → deer
Delaney said the land lies entirely within a stop-over area on the mule deer migration route.
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land → say → route
Hundreds of mule deer have been seen moving through the property during their spring and autumn migrations.
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Hundreds → see → migrations
The ranch properties are also located within habitat areas designated by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department for sage grouse.
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properties → locate → grouse
The Aporia
