2011 Land Report 100: Ted Turner

No. 2 Ted Turner

2,000,000+ acres

Has anyone had more of an impact on the land that we love than Ted Turner? Who would be on that short list — the Secretary of the Interior or maybe the Director of the Bureau of Land Management? Although these appointees oversee many times the acreage Turner owns himself, their tenures are often quite abbreviated. By comparison, Turner has been buying — and bettering — farms, plantations, and ranches since the 1970s. His example has inspired a long list of landowners, including fellow media mogul John Malone (see facing page), who blames Turner for giving him “this land-buying disease.”

From a research standpoint, his Turner Endangered Species Fund has endeavored to enhance biodiversity by ensuring the persistence of dozens of imperiled species such as the Aplomado falcon, the Bolson tortoise, and the prairie dog. Turner has singlehandedly resurrected the fortunes of that paramount symbol of the American West: the bison. Some 55,000 graze on different Turner properties, and an ever-increasing number end up on the menus of his popular eatery: Ted’s Montana Grill. The grill’s latest location opened for business on the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, Colorado. So what’s next for this larger-than-life landowner? Turner’s commitment to fostering a cleaner environment has seen him transformed into a power player. Literally.

In partnership with Southern Company, Turner Renewable Energy is now supplying electricity to some 9,000 households from its Cimarron Solar Facility in Northern New Mexico. Of equal importance to Turner is that the new solar facility displaces over 45,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually. The 364-acre site is located in Colfax County adjacent to Turner’s Vermejo Park Ranch.

More than 300 workers were required to construct the plant (pictured at left), which makes use of half a million thin-film, photovoltaic modules manufactured by First Solar. At 30 megawatts, Cimarron ranks among the nation’s largest solar photovoltaic plants.

“We are very excited to see this project completed and producing clean solar energy to power homes and businesses in New Mexico,” Turner said. “Large-scale solar generation is among the fastest-growing energy sources in the world, and we’re pleased that we can be a part of that growth.”  — Eric O’Keefe

 

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