Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport – This book reshaped the way I approach my professional and personal projects, and it made me even more skeptical of social media than I had been. (Mar/Apr list)

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight – The best business memoir I’ve ever read. (Nov/Dec list)

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari – Extremely interesting theories on the evolution of humans, and it actually pairs well with Tribe mentioned above. (Jan/Feb list)

The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon by Kevin Fedarko – Part history of the American West and part western water policy primer, all layered on top of a wild, exciting adventure narrative. (May/Jun list)

The Naturalist: Theodore Roosevelt, A Lifetime of Exploration, and the Triumph of American Natural History by Darrin Lunde – I’ve read an absurd number of TR books, so my standards are high—this one not only explores a little known (but super-interesting) part of TR’s life, but it also details the rise of America’s natural history movement. (Jul/Aug list)

Being Nixon: A Man Divided by Evan Thomas – Richard Nixon was a strange, strange, strange man. (Jan/Feb list)

Buffalo for the Broken Heart: Restoring Life to a Black Hills Ranch by Dan O’Brien – Conservation, bison, ranching, regenerative agriculture, emotional memoir, and a natural history lesson all rolled into one book. (Nov/Dec list)

End of Plenty: The Race to Feed a Crowded World by Joel K Bourne Jr. – A cautionary examination of what lies ahead if the we can’t figure out a solution to the coming global food crisis, followed hopeful examples of innovators who are attacking the challenge head on. (Sep/Oct list)

Click over to the Mirr Ranch Group blog for my most recent post about some of the ambitious conservation projects taking place around Crested Butte, Colorado, as well as information on one of the most attractive remaining investment and conservation properties in the valley.

Investment and Conservation Opportunity in Crested Butte

—

I just published a trip report of my early morning jaunt up Culebra Peak, the only privately owned 14er in the country and the high point of the spectacular 83,000-acre Cielo Vista Ranch. Click over to the Mirr Ranch Group blog to read all about it!

Climbing Cielo Vista’s 14,047-foot Culebra Peak

—

Looking for some mountain-inspired cinematic magic??  Then head over the the Mountain Khakis blog for my recent article “Must-See Documentaries for the Mountain Life.”  While you’re there, pick up some new pants, shorts, or shirts!  And thanks again to Mountain Khakis for all their help getting the podcast up and running!

Must-See Documentaries for the Mountain Life

Follow the link below to the Mirr Ranch Group blog for updates on all the happenings in “Colorado’s Last Great Ski Town”– Crested Butte, Colorado.  With another excellent ski season in the books, the resort is hard at work preparing for what is sure to be another fun summer in one of my favorite towns in the West!

Changing Seasons in Crested Butte, Colorado

—

This article originally appeared in “Crossroads, Spring 2016 Issue,” the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust newsletter.  You can download a pdf of the article here, watch CCALT’s “Forever Colorado” video here, and support CCALT’s efforts here.

The great western author Wallace Stegner believed that Americans generally fit into one of two categories—“Boomers” or “Stickers.” Boomers are “those who pillage and run” and want “to make a killing and end up on Easy Street.” Stickers are just the opposite—they are “motivated by affection, by such a love for place and its life that they want to preserve it and remain in it.”¹

Since America’s westward expansion, the West has always attracted more than its fair share of Boomers. Like moths to a flame, Boomers have flocked to the West for its expansive landscapes and natural resources that offer a potential one-way ticket to Easy Street. Western history is full of flamboyant, infamous Boomers – from trappers to miners, from developers to oilmen – who have descended on an area and, as quickly as they could, extracted every last bit of value from the land. When the resource (pelts, gold, land, oil) was diminished to the point of unprofitability, the Boomers picked up, moved the entire operation to a new area, and repeated the process.

Ranchers, however, are the anti-Boomers. Since the first cattle drives came West, ranchers have relied completely on their specific parcel of land to sustain their operations year after year, generation after generation. Boomers have come and gone time and again, but ranchers have remained steadfast, respectfully stewarding their ranches, ensuring that they are healthy and productive from one year to the next.

Ranchers are Stickers. They are in it for the long haul, and they must ensure that their finite natural resources (land, grass, water) not only produce this current year, but every year for the next 50 years. The idea of extracting every last drop of value out of a ranch with no regard for the future is a recipe for overgrazing, an unsustainable herd, and, ultimately, financial ruin. The Boomer mentality is simply incompatible with ranching.

Yes, ranchers are motivated by profit, but for many ranchers it seems that financial success is just a tool that serves their primary motivation – a desire to continue living and working on land that they love, preserving a ranching heritage that is slowly disappearing. The Sticker description seems to fit perfectly—ranchers have “such a love for place and its life that they want to preserve it and remain in it.”

CCALT plays a vital role in helping Colorado ranchers remain true to their Sticker way of life. Through its conservation easements, CCALT ensures that Colorado’s productive lands will remain true working ranches forever. No matter what type of economic pressure the Boomers dole out, ranchers will be able to continue doing their meaningful work in places they love and respect.

For the non-rancher, it is important to understand that the positive impacts of protecting these working ranches go far beyond agriculture. Conserved ranches benefit families, communities, economies, water resources, and the outdoor-centric lifestyle that makes Colorado so special. Any Coloradan who loves the state’s expansive open spaces and scenic vistas should support CCALT and its critical work protecting ranches and ranching heritage.

—-

¹ Wendell Berry, It All Turns on Affection (2012)

Mountain Khakis just posted my newest blog, “Books for the Mountain Life, Part 2.”  It’s a follow-up to a similar article I wrote in early 2015.  Head over to their blog to check it out, and, if you are looking for more good book ideas, be sure to sign up for my bi-monthly reading recommendations email list.

Books for the Mountain Life, Part 2

—

It’s no secret that Theodore Roosevelt lived a life that revolved around the outdoors and nature.  Even during his years in the White House, he would commonly disappear into the American West for weeks at a time, hunting, riding, and exploring some of the country’s most rugged landscapes.

A few years into his Presidency, TR’s wife Edith purchased him a small cabin located just off the beaten path about 14 miles south of Charlottesville, VA.  The idea was to provide TR with a convenient, closer-to-home basecamp for his outdoor pursuits, so he wouldn’t have to run off to Colorado every time he needed a fix of the natural world.  The rustic two-story cabin was located on 15 heavily wooded acres that were brimming with birds and wildlife.  In 1911, after TR’s Presidency had ended, the Roosevelts expanded Pine Knot by pruchasing an additional 75 acres.

TR used Pine Knot as a place to unwind and rest—or at least his hyperactive version of rest.  A typical day would have him up between 3 and 5AM, exploring the property before daylight, either hunting turkey or simply observing and cataloging the area’s diverse birdlife.  His days were spent writing articles and catching up on his correspondence–TR wrote well over 150,000 letters during his lifetime.  He ate a lot too, routinely throwing down a dozen eggs for breakfast and personally cooking fried chicken dinners over a kerosene stove for Edith and himself.

In order to fully remove himself from the grind of the White House, TR refused secret service protection while at Pine Knot.  According to David Brinkley, author of the excellent book The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America, TR “instead chose to sleep with a pistol at his bedside, thumbing it open to check the bullet chambers before blowing out the light.  A real man, Roosevelt believed, protected his own family in the woods.”

Anyone who spent a night at Pine Knot quickly learned that the mountain retreat was just a step or two above camping under the stars.  There was a live hardwood tree growing inside the house, and a number of critters called the cabin home.  In the letter below to his son Archie, TR describes a memorable encounter between an overnight guest and some of Pine Knot’s resident indoor wildlife.

The idea of a sitting President enthusiastically encouraging a family of squirrels to live in his house is absolutely hilarious.  It’s impossible to envision any President since TR happily suffering bitten fingers while handling wild rodents, not to mention purposefully releasing the varmints into his own bedroom.  Can you imagine an awkward, bumbling Richard Nixon flailing around a mountain cabin in his beach-walking wingtips, trying in vain to round up a family of flying squirrels? (Coincidentally, I recently heard that a family of squirrels lives in Trump’s hair, but that’s a story for a different blog post.)

To put this story in perspective, the squirrels were actually relatively tame compared to some of the other animals that roamed the Roosevelt residences.  There are numerous examples (perhaps I’ll detail them in a future post), but my favorite was TR’s pet badger “Josiah” that wandered freely throughout the White House, biting guests’ legs and sometimes drawing blood.

For more information on Pine Knot, TR’s menagerie of crazy pets, and his general love of the natural world, check out the sources below.  On a somewhat related note, follow this link for a hysterical quote about TR’s seething hatred of those “bleating idiots” known as sheep.

—

Sources:

• Brinkley, D. (2010). The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.
• Roosevelt, T. (2013). Letters to his Children. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
• Photo: Exterior of Pine Knot. n.d. Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site.http://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/Research/Digital-Library/Record.aspx?libID=o286579. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.

LandThink.com just republished last week’s conservation easement article.  I always appreciate LandThink’s commitment to spreading high-quality, interesting land-related content.  I encourage anyone working in land-related industries to submit articles for publication.  The more knowledgeable professionals to contribute, the more valuable and useful the site becomes!

LandThink: Conservation Easements – Six Common Misconceptions

—

That’s turn-key, not turkey.

Anyway, there’s a lot to be said for buying a ranch that is in great shape and can be enjoyed immediately without a lot of extra cost and backbreaking labor.  My new post on the Mirr Ranch Group blog explains:

The Appeal of a Turnkey Ranch

–

It seems to make perfect sense that a hillside of dead timber would be more susceptible to wildfires than a hillside covered with healthy, green trees, right?  WRONG!  Contrary to popular opinion, there’s a growing consensus among scientists that a forest of dead, beetle-killed trees is no more flammable than a healthy, thriving forest.  To learn more, read my newest article on LandThink.com:

The Unexpected Relationship Between Bark Beetles and Wildfires

–

Despite the fact that conservation easements have been widely used as an effective land protection tool for decades, I still encounter a surprisingly large number of landowners and land buyers who are misinformed about the most basic aspects of the conservation easement process.  Most of these people are smart, sophisticated, and highly knowledgeable about a wide range of land-related issues, but for some reason, conservation easements are a constant source of confusion.

Below, I list out a few of the most common misinformed objections that I hear time and time again, and, as you’ll see, all of these objections are based on an incomplete understanding of exactly how conservation easements work.  But first, to make sure everyone is on the same page, let’s define exactly what a conservation easement is.  The Land Trust Alliance defines a conservation easement as “a voluntary legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust or government agency that permanently limits uses of the land in order to protect its conservation values. Landowners retain many of their rights, including the right to own and use the land, sell it and pass it on to their heirs.”

Now, on to a few of the more common objections that I regularly hear, followed by my humble attempt to set the record straight.  Usually, all of these objections begin with some version of “I’m not interested in conservation easements, because…”

“…I want my children to be able to build houses on the property.”  Conservation easements are completely customizable depending on the landowner’s goals and plans for the property.  The landowner decides how much potential development he is comfortable with and any other future needs (such as relatives’ use of the land), then he works with a land trust to draft an appropriate easement to meet his family’s goals.  The scope of future development is the landowner’s choice—if he wants to designate building envelopes for future homes for his children, that’s allowable.  If he wants to disallow construction of any kind, that’s allowable too.  Whatever he chooses, it’s up to the landowner and land trust to work together to draft an easement that benefits all stakeholders.

“…I don’t want to allow public access on to my land.”  Landowners are not required to allow public access as part of an easement.  As discussed above, an easement is completely customizable depending on the needs of the landowner.  While there are certain cases in which landowners choose to allow public access on to their property as a condition of an easement, these cases are the exception rather than the rule.  When conserving a property, the landowner is forgoing future development rights on private property, not converting their land into a State Park for public enjoyment!

“…I don’t want the government involved with my land.”  While there are cases in which government entities hold conservation easements, most easements are held by non-profit land trusts.  These land trusts are classified as 501(c)(3) organizations, just like the Red Cross, American Cancer Society, or Boy Scouts of America.  Another common term for these types of organizations is “NGOs,” or Non-Governmental Organizations.  By working with a land trust, you are no more allowing the government into your personal affairs than if you choose to donate $1,000 to the Red Cross.  Yes, the government and the IRS can scrutinize any tax benefits gained by donations to a non-profit, but that is the case with all charitable donations, not just donations to land conservation groups.

“…I don’t want the land trust constantly visiting my property.”  As a condition of the conservation easement, land trusts must physically inspect the property to ensure that the landowner is upholding the terms of the easement.  Best practices stipulate that monitoring must occur at least once per year, so landowners can expect an annual visit from a land trust representative.  Under most circumstances, anything more than one visit per year would be excessive and a waste of land trust resources.  A landowner considering an easement should establish all expectations up front, particularly when it comes to the frequency and details of monitoring visits.  In my experience, reputable land trusts give plenty of notice and respect landowners’ wishes regarding the timing of monitoring visits, so this should not be an issue.

“…I need to keep my land in agricultural production.”  Some of the most successful land trusts in the country specialize in working with farmers and ranchers to keep their land agriculturally productive, while also protecting it from irresponsible development.  Again, conservation easements can be customized according to the landowner’s goals, so if a landowner wants to continue farming or ranching, then that can be arranged as part of the easement.  An excellent example of an agriculture-centric land trust is the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust, which focuses exclusively on productive ranches and has protected over 450,000 acres of working land throughout Colorado.  [On a personal note, I strongly believe that in the West, keeping ranches in production while also protecting against development is the most effective land conservation strategy–more on that here.]

“…I don’t have enough income to benefit from donating an easement.”  For those landowners whose income is not high enough to justify the tax benefits, there are other options.  If a parcel of land is of high enough conservation importance, land trusts will sometimes pay landowners for conservation easements.  Using a combination of private donations and grants, land trusts can buy the development rights from the landowner, putting cash in the landowner’s pocket (versus tax credits and/or deductions that could go unused).  Easement purchases are more rare than donations and the process can take longer, but they are a viable option for many important properties.  Also, in some states including Colorado, conservation tax credits can be sold for cash, giving the landowner a way to monetize his donation while providing tax relief to high-income third parties who are willing to buy the credits at a slight discount.

—–

Conservation easements are complex documents with innumerable moving parts, and it’s important that landowners fully understand all of the legal implications and risks prior to moving forward with the process.  For buyers interested in purchasing protected land, it is vitally important to investigate all details of the easement and know how it will affect the future land uses and values.  Conservation easements are “in perpetuity,” so decisions related to them must be thoroughly considered, as they are about as permanent as you can get in the world of real estate.

While conservation easements are one of the most effective tools currently available for protecting land, they are not appropriate for all situations.  My goal here is not to convince you that conservation easements are the perfect solution for every farm, ranch, or property in the country—I strongly disagree with that idea.  A conservation easement is a very specific tool with a very specific purpose that is appropriate in certain cases, for certain landowners.  It’s up to each landowner to seek unbiased, experienced guidance when considering the pros and cons of protecting his or her property.

As for the specific legal and tax implications, I’m not a lawyer or accountant and don’t play one on the internet, so be sure to seek appropriate counsel when sorting through the minutia of conservation easements.  If you’re in the Rocky Mountain West, I’ve got a long list of talented attorneys and accountants that I’m happy to recommend.