Cole Ranch

In late 2010, LRLT closed a conservation easement on 300 acres of Salmon River frontage located just south of Salmon, Idaho. Formerly known as the Fife Ranch, the property borders over three miles of the Main Salmon River. Donated by Dr. Jesse Cole of Butte, Montana, the property has functioned as a working ranch for hay production and cattle grazing for more than a century. The lower 300-acre portion of the 580-acre ranch contains irrigated grazing meadows and acres of healthy cottonwood galleries shading the Salmon River. The property contains a network of irrigation ditches, upwelling groundwater, two ponds, and Gorley Creek runs through the property into the Salmon River. The property is home to a variety of wildlife, including whitetail and mule deer, rabbits, beavers, squirrels, fox, coyotes, wolves, black bears, moose, and a variety of birds. Most notably, one of few heron rookeries located on the Main Salmon River is located on the property (see the picture below).