Home Land Use and Water Improvements Dunne Valley Ranch Ranch History Wildlife & Hunting Miscellaneous




Improvements

Pastures and Watering Facilities

The Dunne Valley Ranch has recently gone through a major face lift with the help of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). This program, which was administered through the local Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), helped identify resource concerns on the ranch and assisted in creating a conservation plan to address those concerns. The resource concerns that were identified were brush management, fencing, water sources and grazing.

Over the course of several years 7 miles of new fencing were constructed, 7 new waterwells were drilled and 23 new 22’ fiberglass tanks were set. Throughout this period the ranch operator focused on light to no grazing at all, and treated specific areas of the ranch for sage brush and other invasive weeds. As a result, the grass production on the ranch has improved immensely and the water sources are adequate to service all pastures and minimize the stress and travel distance for the livestock.


Main Headquarters Facilities

Main Headquarters is located in the north-central portion of the ranch. The owner’s home, the manager or foreman’s home, a large barn with loft, and a large tractor and machinery shed are all located here, in addition to several other outbuildings. A few other structures have been retired, including the historic bunkhouse. A roping corral and various staging corrals, constructed from drill steel pipe, are grouped near the barn. A large plot of ground of perhaps a quarter acre is set aside for a kitchen garden, and a wind-powered pump delivers water to both homes. Both houses were remodeled in 2004.



Main ranch house    2272 sq. ft.
Foreman’s house1792 sq. ft.
Machinery shed4000 sq. ft.
Barn2112 sq. ft.



West Headquarters Facilities


West Headquarters, with a 1900 sq ft home, a 960 sq ft machine shop and various corrals, is located in the far northwestern corner of the ranch.

South Headquarters has been retired.




Roads

A network of roads provides access to all parts of the Dunne ranch. These vary from hard packed engineered roads capable of carrying heavy equipment, to trails that will make a person thankful for 4-wheel drive. Cattle guards have been installed at many pasture entrances, allowing quick and easy access to large portions of the ranch.