This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2005, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
With a big assist from Wal-Mart - yes, Wal-Mart - two conservation groups are close to finalizing a deal to preserve nearly 900,000 acres of ranch property and federal grazing lands north of the Grand Canyon on the Utah-Arizona Border.
The Conservation Fund and Grand Canyon Trust announced Tuesday that funding and contracts are in place for the two groups to purchase the 1,000 acres that comprise the Kane and Two Mile ranches in northern Arizona, plus grazing permits on 850,000 acres in the North Kaibab National Forest and the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, which include a small piece of southern Utah.
The two organizations announced their intent to purchase the properties last July, but needed to raise $4.5 million to complete the deal. Tuesday's announcement signifies the end of that process - an effort that was greatly aided by a $1 million grant from the retail giant based in Bentonville, Ark.
Wal-Mart has embarked on a partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and is committing $35 million over the next decade to purchase one acre of what it calls "priority wildlife habitat" for every acre it has developed for company use. The Arizona-Utah purchase is one of six projects Wal-Mart is seeding initially.
"For the first time, a major corporation has pledged to replace all of the land that it has consumed. The Kane and Two Mile ranches are the beneficiaries of this," said Conservation Fund President Larry Selzer.
Environmental groups for decades have invested large amounts of money to curtail grazing on public lands, largely through litigation and administrative appeals. But in recent years, the organizations have plunged into the market, buying up ranches and their accompanying grazing permits. In 2000 and 2001, the Grand Canyon Trust spent $600,000 to acquire grazing permits on more than 350,000 acres inside the Grand Staircase National Monument.
The Conservation Fund raised $3.5 million toward the purchase of the Kane and Two Mile ranch properties and permits. The Grand Canyon Trust raised another $1.5 million and will manage and operate the properties, which help connect a vast swath of preserved land that includes one national park and two national monuments.
At the same time, the new buyers will seek to mitigate damage caused by cattle while at the same time continuing to graze the minimum number of cattle under the federal grazing requirements.
"What we're trying to do is think more broadly than just in terms of livestock operations," said Moore. "The goal is to restore the natural habitat and how it links the Grand Staircase, the Grand Canyon and the Vermillion Cliffs."
Selzer says he expects the deal to close this fall, but the Grand Canyon Trust will begin managing the properties starting next month.
"Whether it's working forests in the Northwest or Northeast, or the working ranches of the West, the nation's sensibility about what should take place on those lands is evolving," he said. "The concept of sustainable grazing is taking hold. Ecologically sensitive lands can be rested and restored."