Ranch owners offer to sell land to state

One of the Rocky Mountain Front’s most spectacular private ranches, the Seven Lazy P, could become Montana’s newest state park.

Ranch owners Chuck and Sharon Blixrud weren’t available Wednesday to discuss their plans. But Joe Maurier, parks division administrator for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said the couple has been in the guest ranch business for about 50 years and are ready for a break.

“They’re really proud of what they’ve done there, though, and want to see the land preserved while still offering the kind of opportunities they provided,” Maurier said on Wednesday. “If we can make it happen, it would be a great opportunity.”

He’ll bring the proposal before the Montana FWP Commission today to see if they’re interested in pursuing the purchase, which would include spending some of the $10 million allocated by the Legislature last year through the “Access Montana” bill.

That money is earmarked for use in establishing new state parks and increasing public access to outdoor recreational opportunities.

“Everyone knows the price of land is going up, and it’s getting hard for the state to afford to buy it any more for parks and fishing access,” Maurier said. “We’re losing properties forever, and the Legislature decided we should try to buy land now before prices get too high.”

He added that the sale is nowhere near a done deal. In fact, the parcel currently is being appraised so the state can figure out if it has enough money for the purchase.

“I’m worried about the value of those facilities,” Maurier noted. “We don’t want to spend all of that $10 million in one place.”

The Seven Lazy P guest ranch is nestled into Deep Canyon (it’s also called the Deep Canyon Guest Ranch), about 30 miles west of Choteau. It originated as a working ranch in 1928, with Sharon Blixrud’s parents — Steve and Thelma Durfee of California — and a partner purchasing it in 1948.

Choteau native Chuck Blixrud took a job at the ranch in 1954, then married Sharon and bought out the Durfees’ partner. The couple has offered backcountry wilderness experiences into the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area since 1958.

Gene Sentz, who lives in Choteau and often guides trips for the Blixruds, said Tuesday that word of the potential sale came as a surprise to him, although he knew the Blixruds have been mulling this over for a long time.

“This is one of the greatest places on Earth,” Sentz said. “It would be a great addition to public lands in the state.”

It’s along the Rocky Mountain Front that the northern Rockies rise up against the Great Plains, part of a 110-mile, 390,000-acre unbroken chain of jagged limestone along the Continental Divide.

This land is home to some of the lower 48’s largest herds of bighorn sheep and elk, as well as lynx, cougars, wolves, coyotes, mountain goats, antelope, deer, moose, falcons, black bears, beavers and native trout.

The Blixrud ranch sits on a level bench overlooking the Teton River at an elevation of 5,000 feet. The ranch generally consists of two parcels.

About 500 acres on the western side of the ranch includes the headquarters complex, which covers about 120 acres and is home to a three-bedroom and a four-bedroom house, a two-story lodge, six cabins, a large horse corral with a tack room and wrangler quarters, and a developed trail system that connects the ranch headquarters to adjacent public lands.

The 520-acre eastern parcel is undeveloped, and is an important big winter game range.

“The ranch is in a very, very special area,” Sentz said. “The Nature Conservancy bought the ranch just a mile over the hill to the south in 1979 … and the BLM’s (Bureau of Land Management) Blind Horse Outstanding Natural Area borders it on the north.”

Abutting the ranch to the west is the Lewis and Clark National Forest, which is adjacent to the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area. State and private land form the Seven Lazy P’s eastern border.

Maurier noted that a park here would be strategically located near a major travel route between Glacier and Yellowstone national parks, and that the ranch could become “a highly coveted, destination park for out-of-state visitors, as well as Montanans seeking a unique and special park experience.”

“This property sits right at the door of the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area, where there’s tons of hiking, fishing, camping and other recreational opportunities,” Maurier said. “One thing I’ve noticed about the Front is it doesn’t seem like there’s any one spot where folks can go and learn about all the things the Front has to offer. We would like to provide a visitors’ center with lots of interpretation on things like the Front’s geology, its grizzly bears and the whole nine yards.”

He envisions that a caretaker, perhaps even the Blixruds, would live at the Seven Lazy P Ranch and people could rent the cabins or stay in the lodge. The state could hire a concessionaire, or possibly have people cook and clean up after themselves, similar to a hostel.

“We could run something similar to what he (Chuck Blixrud) does, but it would be as a public offering in a state park,” Maurier said. “We don’t have everything figured out yet, obviously, but we’re trying to figure out how people could come up and stay here, what it would cost to operate and whether it could pay for itself.”

Gabe Furshong is a field organizer for the Montana Wilderness Association in Choteau and a friend of the Blixruds. He also supports the transfer of the ranch, saying it would be wonderful if the ranch were run with the same “generosity and spirit” of Chuck and Sharon Blixrud.

“The ranch sits at the mouth of Teton Canyon, where it’s a combination of rock, river and meadow,” Furshong said. “The Rocky Mountain Front has incomparable wildlife values and the Seven Lazy P rests at the heart of the Front.”

Reporter Eve Byron: 447-4076 or eve.byron@helenair.com