Introduction to Wyoming Pathfinder Ranches
The mysterious buyer of a Wyoming ranch four times larger than New York City and bigger than the state of Rhode Island has been identified as a chief executive officer and local politician who already owns a million acres of land.
The Buyer: Christopher Robinson
Christopher Robinson, the CEO of Ensign Group L.C., scooped up the massive 916,000-acre Pathfinder Ranches on behalf of the landholding company and closed the deal on Jan. 14, according to KPCW.
Robinson purchased the land for an undisclosed amount, only four years after he bought the neighboring Stone Ranch.
Size and Location of the Ranch
The massive property, which rolls across 1,431-square-miles, was listed over the summer by Swan Land Company broker Scott Williams for a whopping $79.5 million. New York City spans across 300.4 square miles, while Rhode Island spans 1,033.9.
Spreading across four counties in the Rocky Mountains, the Pathfinder Ranches is made up of four separate properties and encompasses over 1% of the land in the Cowboy State.
Plans for the Ranch
The Park City, Utah resident is using the smaller ranch to bridge together the Pathfinder Ranches properties and create a self-sustainable livestock range.
“So, we’re kind of reuniting that, and we intend to, we’re operators,” Robinson told the outlet. “We’re not generally landlords. We’re going to, over time, grow into it, where we’re mostly running our own livestock on it.”
Robinson plans to work the property’s livestock to become self-sufficient rather than buying from outside the ranch.
Livestock Capacity
The land was estimated to have a capacity of 90,444 Animal Unit Months, the amount of livestock a rangeland can support.
“With cattle prices as high as they are, we’re not going to be buying any mother cows to stock,” he said. “We keep a lot of heifers back anyway, so we’re going to grow internally.”
Ensign Group and Its Holdings
The Ensign Group, co-owned by Robinson and his siblings Alexander and Victoria Robinson, has acquired over 1 million acres of private and public lands throughout Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming under the Ensign Ranches moniker.
Before the massive purchase, the Robinson and Freed portfolio ranked at number 31 on Land Report Magazine’s Top 100 Landowner List.
Impact on the Landowner List
Pathfinder Ranches may push the group’s portfolio to over 470,000 acres up 10 spots on the list and surpassing billionaire Jeff Bezos’ own impressive 462,000 acres, according to KPCW.
“We love land and water. We think it’s a good long-term investment, and we like the opportunities it affords us to be stewards over a piece of God’s creation,” Robinson said.
Christopher Robinson’s Background
Robinson, a graduate from the University of Utah, is one of the five members of the Summit County Council, a seat he has held since his election in 2008, according to the county’s website.
He has extensive experience in production agriculture, local government, mineral and resource development, public lands, renewable energy and conservation efforts.
Conservation Efforts
The newly purchased land is also home to a diverse ecosystem of wildlife including housing the US’s first sage-grouse conservation bank.”
“It’s a statewide bank that, if there’s any damage to, disturbance to, core habitat for greater sage-grouse, one option for mitigation would be to buy credits from the Pathfinder,” Robinson told the outlet. “[The property has] got a lot of sage grouse on it, a lot of antelope, pronghorn, deer and elk. It’s teeming with life.”
Conclusion
The purchase of the Pathfinder Ranches by Christopher Robinson is a significant acquisition that highlights the importance of land conservation and sustainable livestock management. With its diverse ecosystem and vast size, the ranch has the potential to become a model for responsible land use and conservation practices.
FAQs
Q: Who is the buyer of the Wyoming Pathfinder Ranches?
A: Christopher Robinson, the CEO of Ensign Group L.C.
Q: How large is the Pathfinder Ranches?
A: The ranch spans across 1,431 square miles, making it four times larger than New York City and bigger than the state of Rhode Island.
Q: What is the estimated livestock capacity of the ranch?
A: The land was estimated to have a capacity of 90,444 Animal Unit Months.
Q: What is the Ensign Group’s portfolio like?
A: The Ensign Group has acquired over 1 million acres of private and public lands throughout Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming under the Ensign Ranches moniker.
