In the higher elevations up against the Payette National Forest, Click here to contact the Weiser office of the Payette National Forest Service.- or Click here for basic information about the 2.3 Million Acre Payette National Forest - there is a 600-acre timbered parcel that the timber has been selectively harvested. Although additional logging could be done, this type of property is extremely rare and is in high demand for recreational development. These 600 acres could be developed with another lodge, snow cat skiing, and/or summer homes. The logging roads make excellent snowmobile trails but also provide a road network to subdivide the property into large exclusive summer home tracts. This property is also used for grazing but is not subject to the conservation easement.

A.There are a total of approximately 36,535 acres consisting of approximately 16,000 deeded acres, 19,235 BLM acres, and about 1,300 acres owned by Idaho Power and others that are usable only for grazing. These lands provide nearly all the grazing for the Rocking M Ranch. This ranch is the home place of the Salers breed of cattle in America. The Salers - breed was started on the Rocking M Ranch in 1974 and is now the 12^th largest breed in America. In the 1980's, the Rocking M Ranch was the third largest range bull producer in America and was one of the world's most recognized ranches. In the 80's, the ranch had seven straight years in which it grossed over one million dollars per year in breeding stock sales.

Today, the owners have leased out the ranch to a local rancher. The ranch currently grosses approximately $45,000 from the lease and the owner is responsible for property taxes and insurance on some of the improvements.

Conservation Easement:

The 16,000 acres of rangeland and winter area are combined with the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) lands. These deeded land are subject to conservation easements with the Idaho Fish & Game and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. The easement serves as a model in conservation in America between the landowner, the BLM and the Idaho Fish and Game to make the best use of the land for the cattle operation and the wildlife in the area. The easement provides that the land cannot be subdivided or further logged and can be used for 5,290 AUM's of cattle in a rest rotation grazing system. The conservation partners (Idaho Fish & Game) also assist the landowner with rangeland improvements and noxious weed control. The public has access to hunt as well, but the public has never been denied access to the ranch because of the BLM lands interspersed though out the ranch. The ranch owners consider the conservation easement a great benefit, as it is significantly increasing the elk herd, which offers further potential for Mountain Man Lodge, as it provides services for hunters. The easement is unique in that it brings together the landowner and both state and federal agencies and conservationists in a unique spirit of cooperation that is serving as the pilot model for a new era of the west. This program is greatly increasing weaning weight of calves and at the same time providing more big game forage and is transforming the riparian areas. The beaver have re-introduced themselves due to the improved habitat.

The conservation easement permits 5,290 AUM's (Animal Unit Months) over a 9-month grazing season and provides for a winter grazing area, where the cattle graze for 2 months with some protein and hay supplementation. This equates to somewhere between 400 and 450 pair of cattle allowed to run on the ranch for about 9 to 10 months out of the year with the rest rotational grazing program that is currently in place. Currently, the ranch operates as a cow-calf operation and is leased out.