Grant-Kohrs Ranch Administrative History

Of constant concern at Grant-Kohrs Ranch has been the preservation of the cultural landscape. At times this has presented a dichotomy of opinion concerning two related management programs for cultural and natural resources. At the core is the necessity for maintaining the historical integrity of the ranch and its viewshed. The historic scene constitutes both the environment in which a historic place is situated, and the appearance of that feature within its environment. The degree to which that environment has been altered from the historic period must be a fundamental consideration in the overall integrity of a cultural site. The relatively pristine vista across the valley to the west was, in fact, among the reasons that Grant-Kohrs Ranch was deemed to be worthy of inclusion in the National Park System. The scenic contribution of hay meadows north and west of the ranch headquarters have been recognized for their value in virtually all of the area's general management plans dating from 1972 to the most recent one approved in 1993. The maintenance of the open landscape has been noted as a vital and integral element in helping the visitor to appreciate the cattle range of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Winter landscape, 1983.
(Courtesy of Grant-Kohrs Ranch NHS)

The real and potential threats to cultural landscapes emerged as a special concern of Congress as early as 1980 when the House of Representatives Sub-Committee on National Parks and Insular Affairs directed the Park Service to evaluate the boundaries of its historical areas. One park in each region was to serve as a trial sample representing one of the category types. Grant-Kohrs Ranch NHS was selected as "typical of a type" in the Rocky Mountain Region. The resulting evaluation once again placed great importance on the maintenance of the viewshed, noting that the primary threat was the potential for modern development on the west slope of the valley.

The report also recommended that a restrictive easement be negotiated with the Rock Creek Ranch, owners of the westside lands beyond Conrad Warren's easement property. Within the boundary, the report cited land use on the existing scenic easement as being potentially harmful. The stipulations of the easement had trusted much to Warrens sense of what was appropriate to be "done in conformity with good husbandry practice." [23] Once he began leasing much of this ground to others, the situation became much more tenuous because the loosely-worded easement afforded the NPS practically no control over inappropriate activities. For example, there were no restrictions as to the numbers of cattle that could be grazed, nor for how long, though the NPS relied on Warren's experience and best self-interests to prescribe an optimum carrying capacity. Had he severely overgrazed the pastures or even turned the corrals into feedlots, the NPS would have been helpless to do anything about it. Fortunately, not many years passed before the remaining Warren lands, comprising the most vital viewshed, were purchased and added to the Site's authorized acreage.

Of course, the historic scene was never a constant throughout the active period of the Kohrs-Bielenberg operation. What had been virgin bottomlands in the 1860s, described by Con Kohrs as "one of the most beautiful stretches of bunch grass country imaginable," became irrigated meadows scarred with man-made ditches thirty years later. Fences were erected (and relocated periodically) as well as small bridges and flumes at various places on the property. Later, the mining pollutants took their toll on the woodlands along the water courses in the valley. Later still, Con Warren impacted the landscape with fanning, haying, grazing, and irrigation activities. The scene inherited by the NPS, then, was one that had evolved at the hands of man over a period of several decades.

(click on image for an enlargement in a new window)

A cultural landscape analysis prepared in 1987 confirmed the importance of the landscape to the central purpose of the national historic site. Land and its proper management for productive ranching were critical to the success of Kohrs and Bielenberg. There was no suggestion that any attempt be made to restore the landscape to represent any particular period of time, rather it was to be maintained to support the park's mission of providing the public with an understanding of the frontier open-range cattle era in the western United States. The lands surrounding the core area of Grant-Kohrs Ranch contributed much to telling that story, because the natural elements and the changes wrought by man demonstrate the relationship of the ranchers with the land and how ranching practices have evolved in the Deer Lodge Valley. This is seen, for instance, in Kohrs's decision to cultivate some of the native meadows and to replant them with more productive varieties of hay like oats and barley. [24]

This first landscape analysis, which did not anticipate the acquisition of Warren's easements, relied on the largely "status quo" recommendations of the 1985 land protection plan. More recently, a second study considered the enlarged area of the Site, including the additional lands acquired in 1988 and portions of the viewshed lying outside the boundary. While the study area was much the same, the 1991 analysis identified nine distinct landscape types that contributed to the "historic character of Grant-Kohrs Ranch." The report noted that the combination of these combined "to establish an overall identity to the ranch." [25] It reiterated the need for management to endeavor to negotiate some sort of covenant over the upland pastures on the west side of the valley to preclude incompatible development or other activities in that area. With reference to the Superfund issue, the analysis advised that the riparian and woodland zones along the Clark Fork should be restored to more closely represent the conditions antedating the heavy metals toxification of those areas.

Work was begun to accomplish that end beginning in 1994. A program spanning two years administered by the Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks Department resulted in the planting of willow and other species along the river banks. This accomplished a two fold benefit by enhancing the historic landscape and helping to stabilize the eroding banks that had been a recurring problem since the late 1970s. Concurrently, a complete vegetation survey was conducted by the University of Montana with NPS funds. [26]

The management of natural resources at Grant-Kohrs Ranch has matured with time. Although for many years concern for the natural environment took a secondary role to the cultural aspect, they have become virtually inseparable in a cohesive management philosophy aimed at preserving the values and historical integrity of the ranch. The NPS mission to preserve the ranch as a working cattle operation has presented numerous conflicts between the way park resources might normally be managed and the methods "real" ranchers might use in contending with the same situations. Like it or not, the NPS is bound by laws, regulations, and guidelines that dictate the treatment of natural resources. Meeting these dictates, while attempting to operate a ranch in ranching country, requires a delicate balance of science, practicality, and public relations. As one employee phrased it, "Natural resources is a can of worms on a cultural site." [27]