The Case For A Course – article submission by Cleve Trimble
By kdbay at April 20, 2011 | 5:58 pm | Print
(Editors note: This submission is from a cherry county landowner affected by the Snake River Acquisition Project, written 8 years ago. )
THE CASE FOR A COURSE – Personal Notes
Prologue
When NASA was preparing for the Apollo Project, they did some astronaut training on a Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona. One day, a Navajo elder and his son were herding sheep and came across the space crew. The old man, who spoke only Navajo, asked a question, which his son translated. “What are these guys in the big suits doing?” A member of the crew said they were practicing for their trip to the Moon. The old man got all excited and asked if he could send a message to the Moon with the astronauts. Recognizing a promotional opportunity for the spin-doctors, the NASA folks found a tape recorder. After the old man recorded his message, they asked the son to translate it. He refused. So the NASA reps brought the tape to the reservation where the rest of the tribe listened and laughed but refused to translate the elder’s message to the Moon. Finally, the NASA crew called in an official government translator. He reported that the Moon message said: “Watch out for these *censored* , they have come to steal your land.”
It is necessary to make the prefatory comment that several of my more durable friends are nationally-recognized leaders in the principles governing preservation of the few remaining places of special beauty. They know the Ranch and love it just the way it is … as do I. They disapprove of changing anything, especially anything that could possibly impose more people … as do I. But after 18 years of studying its landscapes — both natural and political — there looms an unavoidable decision about how the land’s interests might best be preserved beyond my brief tenure as its steward. The private-public-partnership of land conservation envisioned by Aldo Leopold is unquestionably under assault, and too much is at stake here to fail to recognize the pathetic record of our ever-changing leadership in honoring the treaties of prior administrations. The notes that follow touch upon the rationale for departing from the trusting optimism of my counselors.
Lay of the land, 1986-2003
“Snake River Home sites” was the prior owner’s platted and approved development of a 47 lot residential subdivision on the northerly canyon rim of the Ranch. Over a dozen beautiful sites had been sold for token sums barely sufficient to cover his quarterly interest payments on cattle loans gone sour. Sales were usually closed with his verbal assurance that the new buyer would have few restrictions to the pursuit of any and all sporting opportunities. Covenants were purposely brief and vague. Plans presented to his bankers called for the remaining canyon edges to be dotted with an additional 210 residential lots, RV hook-ups to annually accommodate 18,000 user-days, tent campsites to accommodate 2,250 overnights, 210 fishing and hunting memberships, 240 daily fishing permits to anyone, and 7,200 horse rental hours. A bulldozer mercilessly gouged ill-conceived roadways into the canyon at four different places and then connected them in order to make access unencumbered to all, including the cattle which had already grazed the uplands flat. Fencing was placed everywhere, but none to keep bovines off of the fragile river banks. During this time — the nadir of the1980’s land crisis — computer models of what might be paid for such land (in order to achieve cash-flow) called for less than $40 per acre, and there were few likely takers at that. Especially absent from any bidding were those very governmental agencies which should have been most interested in the property. The patience of Providence had been sufficiently tested and, at almost the last moment, a change in ownership in 1986 halted the thoughtless process in play.
The uplands were rested for several years. Critters that had so thoroughly demolished the river banks were excluded from the riparian zone. Roads were groomed and allowed to heal, which stopped the washing of sands into the stream bed, which then improved trout spawning. Lots that had been sold were repurchased, access was regulated, management policies were implemented, and the ways and means of Nature were allowed to return. The land’s interface with mankind began anew with only the expectation of considerate and appreciative behavior by those who entered in. The inherent beauty and majesty of the place were quick to return when the heavy hand of commercial man was tempered.
Up jumped the Devil
Not surprisingly, those who had previously shunned this neighborhood because of its bleak economic potential began to see opportunities anew. Adjacent ranchers capitalized on the burgeoning reputation of the world-class wild trout fishery by entering into leases with a multitude of “sportsmen”, mainly bait fishermen, when they themselves failed to even understand the concept of ‘catch and release’. A bordering public agency whose function is to rent “school lands’ for agricultural purposes — and which has absolutely no expertise in recreational matters — carved special fishing leases out of its corners which touch the river; it has also begun trying to acquire and /or trade adjoining lands in an effort to become a player in a game of land chess designed to eventually generate bidding by wealthy urbanites. Similar interest has mounted from big city outdoors enthusiasts who want free and open access to everything, and who somehow see themselves above asking for permission from landowners, hoping instead to have gates opened for them by legislators. Their champion is the Game and Parks Commission, an entity sometimes more likely to respond policy-wise to elected officials than to its own biologists, and one which episodically displays outright contempt for landowner’s rights. And a more visible evidence of the mounting assault on the land and its primacy is the once pristine Niobrara River as over 30,000 annual users and abusers flock to this recently-designated “wild and scenic” waterway; their water fights, boom boxes, and hormonally-driven outbursts echo throughout the valley – a corridor which some public agency, either State or Federal, will undoubtedly try to expand in the future to accommodate even more cellophane, sunken cans, cigarette butts, and bodily emissions. Political appointees and bureaucrats simply have little concern for the land’s fragility, or for the impact upon it by temporary occupants with extractive motives. And not one of these publicans would balk at having his name placed on a State Park on land that was donated by someone else.
The problem, therefore, is that the better a given piece of land is maintained, and the less it is sullied, the more attractive it then becomes to a public which increasingly clamors for the opportunity to trammel where ever and whenever it pleases. In Nebraska, the inordinate imbalance between urban and rural interests and influences poses jeopardy to the future sanctity of private lands. In attempts to satisfy their urban constituencies, some politicos have devised legislative bills purporting to “protect” private streams, while at the same time requiring “two points for public access”! It is as though the landowner who brought about the desirability is suddenly the problem, when, in fact, the real problem is a failure to understand that what land most needs is to be protected from man in all his forms–embodied in the thoughtless public. And while it has never been my intent to ban all others, or to create an exclusive playground, there is an obvious reality — based in truly understanding the fragility of the place — that it cannot withstand public assault, nor can it be properly managed by agencies charged with pleasing the public. Were this canyon opened to today’s public the essence to which it has been restored would promptly unravel.
So, as the individual momentarily charged with looking after this little piece of heaven and its sustainable future, it is not difficult to identify that from which the land most needs to be defended – the agents of public agencies. Fences and signage backed by responsible law enforcement can keep John Q. Public at bay, but a whole new approach is required to hold off those connected to the lawmaking and policy-changing businesses.
Evolution of a strategy
Three distinct but interrelated things need to be accomplished to insulate the place from being taken by any of those entities most likely to make future incursions.
First, there must be more voices on behalf of the land than just that of “a retired surgeon”; the politics of envy are easy to conjure, and one man perceived as privileged can be easily targeted for resentment. Others who see the land as I do need to be brought in to some level of participation or shared stewardship in order that they also speak to the issues if and when such becomes necessary. Affording them an element of ownership is probably necessary to engender a wholehearted defense, but this creates a somewhat ugly paradox: to keep people off of this fragile place, some have to be brought on. Yet better to invite a limited and selected few, and to get their buy-in to the principles up front, than being overrun later by weekend recreationalists from around the world who believe that freedom is them determining their own momentary standards.
Secondly, there must be creation of value because if and when any property is taken for a ‘public purpose’, just compensation to the owner is constitutionally required. At present the economic potential of this area is only beginning to become appreciated, and there are insufficient comparables to adequately judge its true worth. Were a ‘taking’ to occur tomorrow, “fair market value” would probably be closer to rangeland prices than to realistic numbers, which simply makes it too attractive for potential acquisition. Another reason that value creation becomes a necessary tactic now is to put the property out of reach of momentarily-stressed governmental budgets.
Finally, and most importantly, there must be genuine protection afforded to the property, which, if done properly, will take away the purported reason, i.e. “protection”, that always “justifies” the taking of a special place. Measures need to unequivocally be implemented which exceed those available to government, including even ‘wilderness’ designation, in order to honestly say that everything that might be done to protect the property is being done. And this needs to be cemented in a sound legal format which, if challenged, would be unassailable. The vehicle appears to be a carefully crafted Conservation Easement through a Land Trust which works creatively with landowners committed to continuing private stewardship — not a Land Trust that does pre-acquisition for government. The fundamental and overriding purpose is to assure that there is never a return to what was happening up until 1986.
Why Golf?
The intended residential subdivision that started this whole discussion could be the thread to tie the foregoing strategy together. Ill-conceived as that project was, it is now key to establishing a value basis which can be both achieved and foregone, in a sense, within the Conservation Easement. But a void remains in balancing the property with a high-value, sustaining function. If some people are destined to reside here, at least on a part time basis, what is the compelling draw? A one-of-a-kind world-class landscape that harbors a blue ribbon trout fishery, in and of itself, has already caused much of the pressure we seek to escape, so something else needs to enable satisfaction of the strategy. Hunting, hiking, and horsing are not unique to the neighborhood. Ranching today is an increasingly expensive lifestyle as agriculture goes from one crisis year to the next. The land yearns for a higher and better use than extraction, for a use that creates value and one which can accommodate people without running contrary to conservation objectives.
Anyone with a love of golf is immediately smitten with the deliciousness of this part of the prairie. The essence of golf – sand, wind, and tall grasses – has already been brought into focus with the superb Mullen facility (Sand Hills Golf Club) – deservedly rated the #1 Modern Course (of all built since 1960). It has been followed quickly by excellent courses at Gothenburg (Wild Horse), and Pierre (Sutton Bay), and another 36-hole project is newly-scheduled on the Dismal River just 6 miles west (upstream) from the SHGC. With the present hazards of international travel not likely to abate, this heartland of the U.S. (perceived to be safe) will likely be the recipient of links-style players who otherwise have traditionally visited the British Isles. The growing number of outstanding courses in this region can only serve as a magnet for a budding industry that might well become the economic anchor for what is now the poorest, yet most unspoiled, part of America. The amenities of the surrounding environs afford a welcome diversity for those seeking outdoor opportunity in the cleanest of air and the freshest of waters in a region on its way to becoming a network of great courses – perhaps the ‘Prairie Trail’?—as the concept of “remote destination” golf unfolds. The 60 mile drive from the SHGC to the Ranch over scenic Highway 97 often encounters no other traveler, and carries through a pristinely dramatic landscape in which a potentially fantastic golf hole cries out wherever one looks. And it all comes together at the Snake River canyon.
The world does not need another mediocre golf course, and what exists here is capable of delivering the best ever. Golf’s impact on this relatively fragile prairie environment will be far less than most customary agricultural applications. The incredible character of the land will allow holes to be discovered and routed within the natural upland landscapes of the dunes and the canyon’s rim. Principles of ‘minimalist design’ will utilize the readily evident work that Nature has already done, rather than trying to copy Her with heavy machinery; letting a golf course ‘happen’ is very different than forcing one upon unwilling terrain. The opportunity is at hand to prove that “conservation golf” is not necessarily an oxymoron (Clark Stevens, AIA, 2002).
Complementary features
In addition to its extraordinary vistas, the Snake River’s canyon serves as home to an exceptional wild Rainbow and Brown Trout fishery in the 12 mile tailrace segment from Merritt Reservoir’s outflow to its confluence with the Niobrara River. Natural reproduction provides large numbers of healthy, acrobatic trout, including a record 20# Brown. Limited access for fly-fishing will be offered to golf club members on a fee and guided basis to assure compliance with prescribed practices; the golf complex would thereby share in supporting the ‘river keeper’ function.
And although the Ranch itself is managed as a sanctuary, there are superb hunting and fishing opportunities on near-by McKelvie National Forest, Valentine National Wildlife Refuge Lakes, and Merritt Reservoir. Merritt offers sugar sand beaches and has the finest water quality of any man-made impoundment in the USA, being the recipient of springs, seeps, and sand-filtered runoff over ranchlands that have never felt the plow or an application of chemicals. In addition to sailing and water sports, it is a world-class fishery for walleye, muskellunge, bass, perch, catfish, and pan fish. It is also the base for the annual international gathering of astronomers and stargazers; the night sky here is the most free of light pollution in the continental USA east of the Rockies.
A few miles upstream is Snake Falls, Nebraska’s largest natural waterfall, which flows over the cap rock that characterizes the region’s unique geology. There are many interesting paleontologic, archeological, and historic sites on the Ranch as well. And several miles downstream (north) is the Niobrara River, famous as one of the best canoeing waters on the continent. It courses through the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge where native bison and elk roam freely with prairie dogs, burrowing owls, and other fauna of the prairie. Bird-watching is outstanding. The ‘Cowboy Trail’ offers an improved hiking and biking pathway which traverses the scenic northern Sand Hills.
Valentine — 16 miles from the Ranch — is at the intersection of two major national highways, and offers full services, including a museum, a hospital, an outstanding Western store, many good restaurants and motels (with an aggregate room capacity of 365), a 9-hole public golf course, and an airport with 4700 feet of concrete (and upgrades in process); Valentine’s population and altitude are about the same at 2800. Its per capita taxable retail sales typically lead the region. The Rosebud Casino is 9 miles north at the border. Valentine’s environs are steadily transforming into the Jackson Hole of Nebraska.
Back to the Ranch — natural features
The upland site that evokes an almost visceral urge to tee it up is east of the canyon at the southerly part of the Ranch, and is characterized by two distinctive land forms:
First, the high dunes offer dramatic contour and ‘choppiness’, a local term describing pronounced elevation changes punctuated with blowouts and an occasional lone well-weathered Ponderosa Pine or Eastern Red Cedar. The prevailing wind is out of the northwest, which orients the dunes from southwest to northeast; on the lee side there are long valleys, or interdunal areas. In the trough of this terrain is a continual sense of isolation and aloneness which gives way to instant revelation on the crests. It is through this region that the entryway to the clubhouse will be located – a winding tunnel with only open sky above that gives no hint of anything until it brims on a breathtaking exposition of the Snake River Canyon.
Next is a transitional area between the dunes and the canyon which is much more subtle, its rolling contours softened by decades of grazing critters and an ancient floodplain. It, too, has lone specimen trees and natural scrapes of open sand but is mainly characterized by lush prairie grasses dotted with yucca. A prominent feature is the century-old wagon trail – formerly from Fort Sidney (Nebraska) to Fort Pierre (South Dakota)– that courses along the east side of the valley, paralleling the river 50 to150 yards upland from the canyon’s edge. This trail runs alongside of what used to be the town of Burge, site of a few homes, a post office, and a one room schoolhouse (relocated a mile east when the highway to Merritt was completed in about 1964); Burge (now the Ranch headquarters) is a long-abandoned way-stop that served the overnight needs of those journeying from big ranches to the south to and from Valentine for provisions. The trail’s only remaining legacy is deep ruts filled with Little Bluestem, a bunchy red grass that is successional on injured native prairie. This historic feature will be incorporated into the course design as a meandering hazard, and to escape its misery will be akin to exiting the deepest of pot bunkers. As a curious sidebar, part of this gentle area was under water some 6,000 years ago as the newly-forming Snake River backed up from the southerly rim of the Niobrara canyon (2 miles to the north) prior to that rim finally being breached. Because true links have been water-covered at some point in their history, this ground technically qualifies.
And at the edge of the transitional area, the rim of the canyon offers awesome vistas not unlike the westerly views from Torrey Pines or Pebble Beach, except with a depth and ruggedness that speaks louder than does the level horizon of the Pacific Ocean. The canyon’s ledges are every bit as definitive a barrier as is seashore, but give a view into the basement of time created by this 6,000 year-old river cutting through 10,000,000 year-old cap rock. The mystery of history blurs into curiosity as shadowy forms move over streambed fossils in emerald waters 500 feet below.
The shape of things to come
The setting and available land, coupled with an abundance of natural avenues and corridors, suggest that even a dunderhead might come up with 18 pretty good holes that route reasonably. But surgery taught me quickly that the essence of wisdom is in knowing what you don’t know, and what you don’t do well. What is readily apparent, however, is that the best golf complex in God’s creation may be hidden here, and that an extraordinarily mature appreciation of the game and its architecture is required to unwrap the package. But some other things merit mention:
Golf here will be for golf itself, in its finest tradition, and not as a centerpiece/hook for a residential development around its edges. Every effort will assure that players see no man-made contrivances from any vantage point (the home sites mentioned at the outset are distant and invisible to this area). Natural elements of the opposite canyon rim and a broad buffer of surrounding ground will remain unblemished.
Separate courses –one ‘along the rim’ and another ‘in the dunes’ –will capture the challenge and essence offered by each differing landscape. Although it would be ideal if one course could incorporate elements of both, the distance between these landforms would shortchange the potential of each. Consideration will be given to complementing the course on the rim with a Par 3 track in the dunes, or vice versa, or a Par 3 just anyway. Yet the first course to be built will be along the rim because this is where the uniqueness lies; to be known initially only by a dunes course would suggest a ‘knock-off’ of the fabulous Sand Hills G.C.
Placement of the clubhouse and lodging will have a major impact upon the design process as well. An incredible site on a peninsula of canyon rim affords drop-dead vistas up and down canyon: it is as beautiful and dramatic a point as any in the country, and flows perfectly for the projected amenities. Arriving and departing vehicles would not come into the view of players and the uninvited could not access the heart of a property whose interests are best served by fewest intruders.
Limitation on the collective number of rounds played in a day will assure that the individual experience is unhurried and free of those in a hurry. Views will be deliberately designed into the routing to invite an appreciative glance. And while a private club is envisioned, play would initially include designated days in which players with membership elsewhere could be admitted with a call or letter from their home professional. Provisions for youth golf and Evans Scholarships are intended.
Lastly, there are some residual considerations about the environmental impact of a golf project here. The ‘traditional’ upland use, i.e. cattle grazing, will cease, enabling removal of the extensive fencing required by the prior Savory intensive rotational method. This, in turn, will enhance wildlife habitat applicable to pronghorn, and to prairie nesting of Audubon Watch-Listed species such as the long-billed curlew, dickcissel, ferruginous hawk, and prairie chicken – all of which would simply add to the prolific populations of mule and whitetail deer, and to over 150 species of birds, including eagles and osprey, which already negotiate life within the Ranch. All overhead power lines will be buried, profoundly benefiting esthetics. And the sole potential for golf to be contrary to the land is if any part of it – whether chemicals or people – spills toward the canyon. For 18 years a sponge-like vegetative buffer has matured by allowing the canyon’s walls and borders to ‘go natural’. Future control of drainage will be assured initially by the designer and continuingly by the superintendent; control of ‘people’ will be assured by non-negotiable rules, covenants, and the conservation easement. The USGA’s ‘Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses’ will be pursued, and overall compliance with environmental concerns will be ascertained in the unfolding process by a commitment to do so, which is simply inherent in being the arbiter between golf and the land.
And the final beauty is that should golf ever cease to be one of man’s passions, this land will revert overnight to what it is now and, on its own, suck back within itself any hint that we have ever even been here. A few flagsticks, however, might wave above the sand for a decade or so until they take burial alongside other artifacts and fossils that once had momentary purpose and life here as well.
Bottom line
It’s exciting that the preservation of a primal river could occur because of a modern golf course that doesn’t come near it.
Cleve Trimble
(Author’s views do not necessarily represent deaddrift.com or it’s affiliates)
