Elk are calling you at Hardware Ranch, now under new management system

Elk are calling you at Hardware Ranch, now under new management system

From the Hard News Cafe 01/07/04

Hardware Ranch opened for the season in December, but Santa Claus' sleigh wasn't the only one making an appearance.

At the ranch, you're the one aboard the sleigh. And instead of reindeer, you see elk.

Hardware Ranch, 15 miles east of Hyrum in Blacksmith Fork Canyon, is probably best-known for its sleigh rides, but there's much more to it.

"We're known for three things up here: elk rides, good food and good scenery," says Hardware Ranch's new director, Dan Christensen.

Christensen was hired Sept. 15 to head a brand-new management system that's never been tried and has essentially two years to turn things around at the ranch. He says it's the biggest management challenge he's ever faced.

"This is an incredibly complex management situation because we're managing range and habitat, wildlife, livestock, farm, a visitor's center, a restaurant," Christensen says. "So if you think of the spectrum of the activities you're involved with up here -- I've been involved with private industry, the military and the national and international government for 30 years and this is the most complex thing I've ever seen in my life."

The ranch proper covers 14,400 acres. Not many people realize that it is actually open year-round, with 15 miles of streams and rivers open to fishermen as long as they hold a valid license. Hunters can also use the ranch, which is home to deer, elk, moose, chukar, ruffed grouse and cottontail rabbits. Less than 1,200 acres are designated as resting areas, which Christensen calls a technical term for "if the game's there, leave them the hell alone." The rest of the area is wide open.

Owned and operated by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Hardware Ranch was established as a location to operate a winter feeding program for Rocky Mountain elk. The area was purchased in 1945 by the state of Utah from the Box Elder Hardware Company using money generated from the Wildlife Restoration Act. Hardware Ranch's official Web site, www.hardwareranch.com, says that Cache Valley has historically been a winter range for elk herds. As the area became more heavily populated, farmers were having problems with elk grazing in their fields. Feeding the elk at the ranch has eliminated these problems and has saved many elk from dying of starvation due to a severe lack of natural feed during the winter months.

The feeding program begins each winter when high levels of snow in the areas surrounding the ranch bring the elk to the feeding area. Christensen says the number of elk who come to the ranch varies from year to year. This year 200 to 300 elk showed up around Oct. 1, but the official feeding didn't start until the week of Thanksgiving.

Christensen says the elk return to the ranch because they know they've been fed there before.

"Elk are very easily habituated. They're a herd animal; they're like feeding cows. If you feed cows, they come back. If you feed elk, they come back," he says. "The trick here is to feed them so that they come and stay and not feed them too much at once because I have to get them core through the winter. If we have mild winters, it's not a problem. If we have severe winters, between feeding my draft horses to pull the sleighs and feeding the elk, we cut it pretty close."

The Web site says the feeding program is funded by sportsmen license fees and visitor use fees. The elk are fed grass hay grown on the ranch during the summer months, when it acts as a farm. It takes 300 tons of hay to feed the 500 to 600 elk who visit the feeding ground each year.

Elk are obviously an important part of Hardware Ranch. Its primary mission is to serve as a center for elk research, which it has done since the 1950s.

The activities at the ranch are centered around this mission, as well as promoting wildlife and habitat conservation.

"The whole reason we exist is to tell people why wildlife and habitats are important so that we can encourage them to help us conserve," Christensen says.

Research, according to the Web site, is funded through the Wildlife Restoration Act and administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services.

Each year, several elk receive ear tags and are weighed to allow experts to study the population characteristics within herds. The research also provides information on pregnancy rates, calf sex ratios, bull/cow ratios and disease testing. Understanding the biology and population dynamics of elk is important for managing the herds well and also aids in management decisions about hunting regulations.

Hardware Ranch has a visitor's center on location that provides guests the opportunity to learn about elk and other wildlife through interactive exhibits and programs.

Christensen says the center, which is nearly 30 years old, was very well-conceived and costly when built, offering guests panoramic views of the surrounding mountains. However, he says they have essentially outgrown the center based on how the new management team wants to operate.

Christensen has plans to retool the message and redo some of the exhibits. He also hopes to develop an aggressive outreach and education program to make more people aware of Hardware Ranch's purpose and mission, but it all depends on funding.

"We're essentially in a make or break situation the next few years up here," he says.

Christensen says the state is "essentially bankrupt," so in order to make any changes and even to keep the ranch open and operating, he has to rely on monetary donations and private funding. The key is to make people aware of the importance of Hardware Ranch and keeping it open. Getting people to come to the ranch is the first step, which is accomplished well with the aforementioned sleigh rides.

Rides last about 20 minutes and are very affordable – Christensen says prices have not been raised in a long time. The cost for visitors 9 and up is $5, children ages 4 to 8 is $3 and children 3 and under ride for free.

Guests ride on horse-drawn sleighs right through the middle of the elk while the driver tells about the elk and the ranch itself.

About 55,000 visitors come to Hardware Ranch each year during the winter months seeking sleigh rides. At an average price of $4 per person with 24 people per sleigh, Christensen has to give 1,500 sleigh rides completely full of people to break even in a three-month period.

He hopes to increase the number of visitors by promoting the ranch more.

Most of the publicity it gets now is through word of mouth.

Steve Anderson, a Utah State University student, has never actually been to Hardware Ranch but hears good things about it.

"I heard about it through word of mouth. A lot of people talk about it and how awesome it is," he says.

Kevin Janes also attends USU and has been to Hardware Ranch several times.

"I wanted to go because it's cool to be away from the city. It's just a fun experience going on the sleigh and seeing the animals," he says. "It is always very refreshing and interesting."

The location of the ranch is also one of the benefits.

"The nice part about it is we're a remote location, but we're only 22 miles from Logan," Christensen says.

Hardware Ranch will remain open until sometime in mid-March, depending on the weather. It will be open Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.

Visitors are encouraged to dress warmly and bring cameras -- guests often come within an arm's length of the elk.

Christensen says the ability to get so close to the wild elk is what makes the experience at Hardware Ranch so unique.

"I don't know of any other [places] in northern Utah where you actually take people in among the elk and let them watch the elk and get up close and personal," he says. "It's definitely a big hit." 

By Loni Stapley