2012 Land Report 100: Paul Fireman

No. 36 Paul Fireman

247,000 acres

The former Reebok chairman, Fireman owns one of the largest ranching operations in the West. Nevada’s Winecup-Gamble Ranch (pictured above) has permitted grazing access to almost 750,000 acres. Add to that the ranch’s deeded acreage and the total is almost 1 million acres. The Winecup-Gamble has geothermal hot springs as well as renowned elk hunting. Previous owners of the Winecup-Gamble include actor James Stewart and former Nevada Governor John Sparks.

Photo Credit: Winecup-Gamble Ranch
 

2012 Land Report Best Brokerages: Clark Company

Clark Company
www.clarkcompany.com
(805) 238-7110

2012 Sales: < $50 Million

Who: Specializes in ranch real estate, farm and agricultural properties, and ranch management. President and Broker Pete Clark, ALC, also oversees and manages numerous ranches, including the Clark Family ranches in San Luis Obispo County, California.

Wow: Sold the 742-acre Hardham Ranch in the hills of Paso Robles, which was listed at $8.5 million. The ranch’s high hills afford views of Black Mountain, and its cool climate comes from ocean breezes wafting their way through Templeton Gap.

Insight: “The market has been steady and positive over the last 12 months, and 2013 appears to be starting where we left off in 2012,” says Clark. “We are optimistic about the year ahead, and all indications are that it should be strong.”

Pictured Above: Located in San Miguel’s countryside, BMT Ranch offers an outstanding opportunity to purchase a working horse and alfalfa ranch.

Download the Spring 2013 edition of The Land Report for the complete listing of our third annual survey of the country’s leading real estate firms specializing in land.

Land’s Best Friend: The Vizla

Versatile and handsome, the Vizla is a hard-working retriever that is a favorite of hunters and their families. — Henry Chappell

Many centuries have passed since the Magyars lorded over Central Europe. These fearsome warriors were also accomplished hunters, and they recognized that game birds were most easily netted when they were located before flushing. Given the value of a hunting dog that hesitates before pouncing, the Magyars developed a powerful, bobtailed pointing dog with a short, dense, reddish coat — the rootstock for the modern Vizsla.

Vizslas are close to medium-range workers and excellent retrievers. American hunters have long favored the breed for hunting grouse and woodcock as well as bobwhites in tight cover. Like other versatile breeds, Vizslas will drop their noses and trail ground scent — a trait that endears them to hunters of pheasants, desert quail, and other birds that run more often than hold. Vizslas are strong, enthusiastic swimmers, always happy to fetch waterfowl from creeks, ponds, and other modest waters.

Vizslas form tight bonds and thrive on affection. Locked away and ignored, they’re apt to be noisy and destructive. Your Vizsla will bust brush all day, then lay her head in your lap and snooze on the drive home.

Do:

• Treat your Vizsla pup like a member of the family.
• Choose pups only from proven working stock.
• Take your pup for field romps as soon as she’s completed a course of inoculations.

Don’t:

• Resort to harsh training methods. Vizslas tend to be sensitive.
• Expect your Vizsla to retrieve from rough, icy water best left to a Labrador retriever.
• Introduce gunfire until your pup is searching boldly.

Download your digital version of the Spring 2013 edition of The Land Report.

2012 Land Report 100: Nunley Family

No. 24 Nunley Family

301,500 acres

Representing the third generation of a respected ranching family, Richard and Bob Nunley founded Nunley Bros. Ranches in 1972. Today, their holdings are located in Texas and New Mexico, and include a large-scale cow-calf operation noted for its Santa Gertrudis herd. The family’s Running N Hunting Group offers trophy whitetail deer, pronghorn, mule deer, and dove hunts in South Texas and West Texas.

 

2012 Land Report Best Brokerages: Bear Island Land Co.

Bear Island Land Co.
www.bearislandland.com
(218) 365-2800

2012 Sales: < $50 Million

Who: Focuses on the sale of recreational properties on the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness along the Minnesota-Canada border. Primarily deals in lake property, undeveloped shoreline, and timberland. Sister company Bear Island Surveying offers additional services.

Noteworthy: Charlie Chernak is the owner, broker, and a licensed surveyor — the only such combination in Minnesota.

Insight: “Our sales doubled in 2012, with movement in all types of properties,” Chernak says. “Sales of undeveloped backland that are being purchased primarily for deer hunting are still our bread and butter. Consumer confidence seems to be improving.”

Pictured Above: This private year-round home on Farm Lake is nestled on an extraordinary pine-studded, five-acre lot boasting 275± feet of level shoreline in Lake County, MN. As part of the White Iron Chain of lakes, this unique property is located on a very quiet and private part of the lake called the Farm Lake Narrows.

Download the Spring 2013 edition of The Land Report for the complete listing of our third annual survey of the country’s leading real estate firms specializing in land.

Oregon’s Senator Ron Wyden Considering Land Transfer

Oregon’s senior Senator, Ron Wyden, is mulling the possibility of ceding control of 30,000 acres of federal timberlands to Indian tribes in his state. Wyden’s proposal calls for transferring 15,000 acres of the O&C Lands from the Bureau of Land Management to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, to be held in trust for the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians. An additional 17,000 acres would be transferred to the control of the Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Tribe of Indians.

Read more here.

Download the April newsletter here.

Photo credit: The Associated Press/2004

2012 Land Report 100: Ford Family

No. 11 Ford Family

625,000 acres

The family’s lumber company was founded in 1936 by Kenneth Ford, whose son, Allyn, is the current president and CEO. Now in its seventh decade, Roseburg Forest Products is a Ford family-owned company that owns and operates sustainable forestland in Oregon and California. A substantial portion of this portfolio dates back to the 1996 acquisition of International Paper’s timberlands in Southwest Oregon. Roseburg utilizes biomass cogeneration and recycled tons of reclaimed wood into panels that sequester carbon. The company also plants millions of trees each year, has reduced its carbon footprint through vertical integration, and offers a wide selection of certifiably green building products. Over 175,000 acres of Roseburg timberland are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

 

2012 Land Report Best Brokerages: Whitetail Properties Real Estate

Whitetail Properties Real Estate
www.whitetailproperties.com
(217) 285-9000

2012 Sales: > $150 Million

Who: Specializes in hunting and recreational properties, agricultural holdings, ranches, and subsurface rights. Broadcasts its own television show, reaching over 50 million homes. Licensed in multiples states with its own brokers on the ground (as opposed to affiliates).

Wow: Closed a 2,800-acre tillable farm in Missouri for $19 million.

Insight: VP of Marketing Paul Sawyer predicts a 25% increase in gross sales for 2013.

Pictured Above: Located in Madison County, Texas, this incredibly unique and beautiful tract features a one-acre fishing pond, loaded with largemouth and hybrid-striped bass, a spring-fed waterfall, and healthy populations of whitetail deer and feral hogs, as well as numerous species of ducks.

Download the Spring 2013 edition of The Land Report for the complete listing of our third annual survey of the country’s leading real estate firms specializing in land.

Texans Debate Water Development

Politicians in the drought-prone Lone Star State are duking it out over a possible $2 billion funding allocation to the Texas Water Development Board, an entity that is tasked with developing water-supply projects such as reservoirs and pipelines. Presently, the agency’s loan portfolio is at its highest level ever – $5.8 billion. According to supporters, a $2 billion injection from the Texas Rainy Day Fund could be leveraged into $27 billion in water-related infrastructure over the next 50 years. Critics contend that the requisite accountability isn’t in place.

Read more here.

Download the April newsletter here.

2012 Land Report 100: Singleton Family

No. 6 Singleton Family

1,110,000 acres

Headquartered at New Mexico’s famed San Cristobal Ranch just outside of Santa Fe, Singleton Ranches is nationally known as one of the country’s top cow-calf operations. Family patriarch Henry Singleton cofounded Teledyne with George Kozmetsky. Later in life he began acquiring ranches in New Mexico totaling 1 million deeded acres and 165,000 acres of state leases. His heirs continue this tradition and own and operate ranches in California, including the Peachtree and Top ranches in Salinas Valley and the River Island Ranch at the foothills of the Sierra Mountains. The Salinas Valley ranches were once part of the San Lorenzo Land Grant of 1842. Cowboys working those ranches still use the traditional riatas, bits, spurs, and tack of the legendary vaquero.

Photo Credit: Singleton Ranches

 

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