CRANBROOK, B.C. — The view from the butte from which Pine Butte Ranch takes its name features distant mountains, forest, rolling hills and grasslands.
It is the type of scenery so attractive to those wishing to buy their own little piece of heaven.
“We’ve had a lot of pressure from a lot of different people to sell chunks of the property to them, but we thought rather than do that, we would try and preserve it because it’s one of the few natural grasslands left in the province,” said ranch manager Hugh McLuckie.
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He is responsible for 1,000 owned acres and another 10,000 in crown lease that make up the ranch owned by Ray Van Steinburg in the area between Cranbrook and Kimberley, B.C.
About 160 purebred horned Hereford and 120 commercial cattle graze the property in a managed program that takes into account native grassland preservation, forestry interests and the wishes of wildlife and environmental groups.
The ranch also has a deal with Nature Conservancy Canada to preserve 1,300 acres.
That may sound like a lot of cooks in the same grassy kitchen, but McLuckie said it’s manageable. Getting the public to understand the benefits of cattle ranching has taken time, but success is taking hold.
“I guess we’re kind of always looking to expand our horizons on what we can do to create a big picture for everybody, sort of like creating (a place) where the general public can walk out there, ride their horse or whatever, and see cattle along with wildlife and everything is good. The grass is in good shape and the wildlife’s happy and nobody’s bothering anything.”
McLuckie and Van Steinburg opened the ranch to a September tour by the Pacific Northwest section of the Society for Range Management.
Visitors saw the results of efforts to work in co-operation with logging companies and environmental groups. Among them was a 1,600 acre site subjected to a managed burn six years ago to eliminate smaller trees and forest in-growth.
The result is deep spring pasture used this year by cattle and elk.
“It’s really showing now what fire will do to restore the ecosystem,” said McLuckie. “It’s just amazing what those pastures are doing as far as productivity and grass.”
Agrologist Tim Ross said the site now represents a nearly ideal open forest situation, though steady management of forest in-growth will always be necessary.
He said open stands of pine seem to aid grass recovery, possibly because the needles keep cattle from grazing too closely. Pine needle abortion in cattle is a concern, but McLuckie reported no problems.
Van Steinburg, who bought Pine Butte Ranch in 1952, said his grazing philosophy, though simple, has proven successful.
In the early days of the ranch, sparse grass was usually depleted by midsummer, forcing him to take the cattle off the reserve and back to the home place.
He advocates understanding the soil, encouraging desirable grazing species and dealing harshly with undesirable plants when they are at a vulnerable stage.
“To me, that has been the secret of our whole program,” he said.
The desire to preserve this piece of native grassland led him and McLuckie to a deal with the NCC in 2006.
“We kind of thought long and hard about it,” McLuckie recalled.
“It seems like the St. Mary’s prairie area is sort of the epitome of what people want to move to because of the scenery that we’ve got here.”
Only two percent of British Columb i a’s grasslands are protected, according to the NCC, so Pine Butte Ranch signed on with 1,300 acres and a 100-year lease to continue ranching operations.
With so much of the ranch connected to crown lease, public access can be frequent. But McLuckie said hunters are generally respectful and few problems are seen with horseback and all-terrain vehicle riders.
“We kind of look at it as trying to educate the general public, creating a picture where ranching is doing a good service for the people that want to go out there.”
The ranch also has responsibilities as a user of crown lease land, he added.
“We don’t want the people that are out there to enjoy the scenery or enjoy the wildlife and birds, etc., etc., to think that we’re a problem out there.”
