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Saving the Goebel RanchTo a Pintail, this is Paradise Found. Don't let it become Paradise Lost
 From a duck's-eye view, the lush grasslands and abundant wetlands of South Dakota's Goebel Ranch look like prime breeding habitat. Unfortunately, most of this type of habitat in the prairies is gone. That's why Ducks Unlimited purchased Goebel Ranch in August of 2000. Spanning some 8,500 acres of prairie pothole landscape, Goebel Ranch is one of the largest contiguous grassland tracts remaining in the Missouri Coteau.
The Missouri Coteau is a 35,000 square-mile area of the northern United States and southern Canada that contains some of the best duck breeding and nesting habitat in North America. Some areas of the Missouri Coteau contain more than 100 small wetlands per square mile.
These "prairie potholes" are perfect breeding habitat for waterfowl, and the relatively undisturbed grasslands provide secure nesting habitat for ducks, geese, and many other birds.
But today, the remaining interconnected native prairies and wetlands are encountering serious threats. Despite a sparse human population and, in many areas, marginal and rocky soil conditions, large reaches of native prairies on the Missouri Coteau have given way to the cultivated grasses of spring wheat, barley, and oats, in addition to risky row crop cultivation.
Goebel Ranch is the flagship property in DU's newest effort to protect the last best waterfowl  habitat on the prairies. The ranch is now a part of Ducks Unlimited's Revolving Land Acquisition Program, a land protection component of DU's ambitious conservation initiative known as Grasslands for Tomorrow.
Purchasing Goebel Ranch presented a unique opportunity for Ducks Unlimited to protect, in perpetuity, a virtually untouched native grassland. "Perhaps even more impressive than the sheer size of Goebel Ranch is the fact that it is all-natural, or as close as we can come to that these days," says Jeff Nelson, DU's Director of Operations for the Great Plains Regional Office.
"If you were to visit Goebel Ranch today, the vast, rolling hills and intermittent potholes you'd see wouldn't look much different than what the first European settlers saw when they discovered this land."
Prior to Ducks Unlimited's purchase, Goebel Ranch was used for almost a century as a working cattle ranch, and the sellers were adamant that the land continued to be grazed. In fact, they turned down other purchase offers in anticipation of an offer from a conservation buyer. That buyer came in the form of DU Regional Biologist, Frank Kartch.
When Kartch heard of the possible sale of Goebel Ranch, he immediately recognized the impact that a purchase by Ducks Unlimited would have on the region. "This is the largest purchase of native grasslands in the region by a conservation buyer," says Kartch. "It has the potential to focus a great deal of national interest on the continuing loss of native grasslands in the prairies."
Goebel Ranch is located in McPherson and Edmunds Counties, South Dakota. To the north of the ranch is a 3,300-acre federal waterfowl production area as well as the Nature Conservancy's 8,000-acre Ordway Prairie Preserve.
Together, these three ownerships cover over 20,000 acres of prime prairie pothole landscape. In the same area, Ducks Unlimited also owns more than 3,200 acres of croplands and pastures, which are currently targeted for substantial wetland and upland restoration work.
During the first year of ownership, DU will focus most of its efforts on implementing appropriate  grazing systems for the Goebel Ranch. Nelson says the overall condition of the pastures is good, and "with minor modifications to management, dormant native species will begin to appear and increase, helping make the property ideal for waterfowl nesting habitat, while meeting the needs of livestock." Nelson emphasizes that the ultimate goal of the purchase is to manage the area for waterfowl breeding potential.
Preserving Goebel Ranch is just one piece of a much larger conservation puzzle. Other properties across the region are facing imminent threats, and it's up to us to save them. Ducks Unlimited is working to raise $2.2 million to continue this critical habitat protection work. Each gift of $250 will protect one acre of the best of the best waterfowl habitat left in America.
If you would like to make a contribution to help save this valuable habitat, you can mail donations to:
Ducks Unlimited Inc.
Great Plains Regional Office
2525 River Road
Bismarck, ND 58503-9011
or call (701) 355-3500.
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November / December 2008 Issue
Feature Stories
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