Ruby valley ranchers take care of the land, say conservationists

A desire to keep commercial and private development out of the Ruby valley has united groups on opposite sides of the political spectrum. The Ruby Valley Strategic Alliance is a group that was born out of contention about 10 years ago. It is made up of both representatives of conservation groups and ranchers whose families have been raising livestock on the land for, in some cases, more than 100 years. Rick Sandru, a Ruby valley rancher out of Twin Bridges, said that while fighting over a potential wilderness designation 10 years ago, the two groups realized they had shared values in common. Both groups wanted to preserve the Ruby valley from getting turned into Bozeman sprawl, he said. “Keeping working ranches viable is the best hope we have for conservation goals,” Sandru said. “I’d rather see cows than condos.” Once those shared values were realized, the group of Ruby valley ranchers and conservationists put together a compromise called the Snowcrest Agreement. The agreement supports the Snowcrest Mountain range, which acts as a boundary between the Ruby valley to the east and the Centennial valley to the west, into becoming protected wilderness but would leave about 20,000 acres available for grazing. Emily Cleveland, Montana Wilderness Association field director, said the 20,000 acres would have conservation protection on it, which would keep motorized vehicle use out of that stretch of public land, too...MORE