Hunters are happy about having guaranteed access to the land.
And the ranch's co-owner, Steve Page, says relations with hunters have actually improved. But perhaps most important is that the agreement provided cash benefits to the landowner for managing the land for wildlife benefit, which was in large part consistent with the way he was currently managing for livestock, says Gunderson, a wildlife biologist at FWP's regional office in Glasgow. The conservation easement, finalized in February of 1994, also involved the Brewer Ranch near Broadus, which has about 34,000 acres, about half of which are deeded. In return, habitat on an area roughly a third the size of Flathead Lake has been protected for elk, mule and white-tailed deer, antelope, upland game birds, waterfowl and other wildlife. In accepting monetary compensation, the ranch owners agreed to a habitat management plan and to certain restrictions on property rights.