Ochoco Main Ranch

LOCATION
Ochoco Ranch is in Central Oregon and just 45 minutes from the Redmond/Bend commercial airport (Roberts Field - RDM). The property is 11 miles east of Prineville, OR on Highway 26. Prineville, which also has a municipal airport, is located 30 minutes from Bend and 20 minutes from Redmond.

ACREAGE
The property consists of approximately 31,553 acres of timbered high country in one contiguous block. The ranch is unique in many ways; 1) there is no public access, 2) a high percentage of forested lands, 3) the character and lay of the land is very appealing with smooth, gently rolling terrain with deep soils allowing the ranch to be very usable and productive, and 4) very secure, easily controlled, and inexpensive to operate. The ranch borders the Ochoco National Forest and Lookout Mountain Roadless Management Area along its east border with several private ranches surrounding the other sides. In addition to the deeded acreage, Ochoco Ranch controls the cutting rights on an adjoining 3,111+/- of private land under a timber for grass trade use agreement.

The ranch is accessed by three private easements known as the primary roads. These primary roads are raised bladed gravel roads adjoining the highway and cut through the ranch north/south and east/west. Secondary and limited use roads cut through in various directions over the property and are accessed off the primary roads. This road system makes the property readily accessible and provides a major value enhancement. A well-developed road system such as this cannot be found on comparable properties. The topography of the ranch grades upward from west to east reaching its highpoint near Lookout Mountain and has elevation range of 3,600 feet to 6,000 feet. The vegetative habitat for the lower southern exposures consists of intermixed Ponderosa Pine, Cedar/Juniper, brush, browse and grass. The higher elevations and northerly exposures consist of Douglas Fir, White Fir, Ponderosa Pine, Aspen, Tamarac (Larch), Willows and lots of grass. The varied habitat is ideal for the diverse wildlife that inhabits the ranch.

HISTORY
The name Ochoco comes from the Paiute Indians and means “willow”. Over time as the area was settled the meaning changed to “tall pine” reflecting on the old growth pine trees in the Ochoco Mountains. Range wars between cattle and sheep ranchers account for some graphic attacks in the early settlement days. The Ochoco Ranch was assembled beginning in the 1930’s by the Ochoco Lumber Company of Prineville and was an inventory property for the mill and managed on a sustainable basis over the decades. Remnants of early logging days can be found which include a flowing spring and a City of Prineville water storage tank that was used to fill the tanks for the water-cooled brakes on the old-time log trucks which carried payloads to Prineville. The property is well stocked with merchantable timber consisting of a wide variety of ages and sizes. One can expect, on average that the trees are growing at the rate of approximately 3 to 3.5% annually, providing a growing renewable investment for future generations. Through the years the harvesting of the larger trees has opened the land to more sunlight, thereby producing more grass and forage for the fauna.

RECREATION AND WILDLIFE
The Ochoco Ranch is a haven for Rocky Mountain Elk, Mule Deer, Antelope, Grouse, Quail, and Turkey. Rainbow and Brook Trout can be found along Wolf Creek and Horse Heaven Creek. In addition, there are approximately miles of spring fed creeks and mapped springs located on the ranch. Fishery enhancements along the main tributaries would be beneficial to the trout populations and would improve the value. Historically, the ranch provided summer grazing for 800 to 1,000 head of cattle. The current owner has not allowed commercial hunting or cattle grazing for the past five years. The combination of hunting control and removal of livestock grazing has created greater forage production causing the wildlife resource to improve both in quantity and quality. The ranch is a haven to large elk and deer populations and has a reputation of producing trophy quality animals. The Ochoco Ranch qualifies for eight landowner permits each for deer and elk. The bird species of quail, grouse and turkey offer multi species hunting opportunities in addition to the big game.

DEVELOPMENT/CONSERVATION POTENTIAL
Ochoco Ranch would be an ideal candidate for many types of development or conservation. In addition to its physical characteristics, the property offers a remarkable panoramic view of the Cascade Mountain Range and the Deschutes River valley to the west.

SUMMARY
The large, deeded acreage of timbered high country comprising the Ochoco Ranch makes this an exceptional resource. This resource combined with its excellent location nearby to a rapidly growing area along with the multitude of recreation possibilities allow the Ochoco Ranch to be well positioned for future value enhancement. The property is a blank canvas, available in its raw natural form, allowing it to be taken in a variety of directions by the new owner.