Generations on the Land: A Conservation Legacy

Chapter 7 Pape Ranches

ChApter 7 pape ranches You are about to read the story of the ranching accomplishments of the Pape family of Daniel, Wyoming. Along with improving their agricultural operation and conserving their land resource, they have placed great emphasis on wildlife protection,which includes providing safe passage for the nation’s largest seasonal movement of pronghorn antelope. I am so very impressed. As outstanding as their record is, I have not yet mentioned what amazes me the most about them. They stand out from the pack above all, because of the inner strength of their family. The Papes’ daily discussions around their kitchen table are filled with lessons for us all. Most of us have families. As wonderful as families are, getting along is full of challenges. I am sure they have—and have had—many of the same problems that all of us face.Through the generations, however, they have managed to overcome the normal obstacles. I can’t possibly list all of the positives here. Their oneness of purpose, the value of each individual’s contribution, the priorities of conservatism, family values, service to the community, overcoming adversity. . . . I could go on. You also get the feeling that they instinctively know that what they are doing is right. It is not easy being somebody’s hero. It is not something that you intensely prepare for, execute, and then relax and forget. It is a job every day for a ChApter 7 [ 80 ] lifetime.We all want to pass something valuable down to our children. In this case, through each generation, what was passed was a wonderful example. —jon kirkbride, Fourth Generation Rancher, president 2007–2009, Wyoming stock Growers association [ 81 ] the view from the highway was pastoral—pronghorn antelope, the fastest land animal in north america, and mule deer, icon of the american West, lounged in luxuriant grasses while black and red cattle browsed in a pasture nearby. Both the wildlife and the livestock looked very much at home on this majestic plain in northwest The Pape Ranches (photo by crystal Lawrence) ChApter 7 [ 82 ] Wyoming. the plain itself is enveloped by the Wind River Mountains to the east, the Gros Ventre Mountains to the north, and the Wyoming range to the west, with the Green River winding along the base of its verdant foothills. the hand-carved wooden sign by the main gate from the highway reads“Welcome to cattle country,” but there is so much wildlife in every direction, the sign could just as well declare “Drive-by Zoo.” canada geese floated on the small pond above a small stream where brook trout and rainbow trout thrived. sage-grouse rambled inside fenced hay stacks and in the grasses beyond, within eyeshot of sandhill cranes picking their way through wetlands and red tail hawks circling overhead. Wild coexisting with domestic has always been a way of life on the pape Ranches. Frederick Herman pape first came into the area in the late 1800s with his three brothers and purchased the first 160 acres of Home place, the name the ranch still retains. in 1917, Frederick’s son, Lester, decided to try and make a living out of running a herd of one hundred columbia ewes. Lester used to tell his son, norm, that if he couldn’t deal with moose raiding their haystacks, he ought to go back to kansas where the papes came from. norm never gave it a thought.“this is almost like the serengeti,”he marveled,looking out the kitchen window of the house he has lived in all his 78 years. and he wasn’t kidding. the pape Ranches of northwest Wyoming are located in the southern part of the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem, the last remaining large, nearly intact mountain ecosystem in the United states; it retains the greatest number of living organisms that have existed since pre-columbian times. pronghorn antelope pass through the ranches on their annual 180-mile migration, one of the longest land mammal migrations on earth. norm pape is the current head of the pape Ranches. and he taught his own boys what his father taught him. His son, Dave, (Frederick’s great-grandson) told me,“the wildlife was here first.We manage around the wildlife,” he said before correcting himself. “We manage with the wildlife. i was always raised that wildlife had a place and we better respect that because that’s the way it is...