The Crown Jewel of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
In 1996, the dream became a distinct possibility. Roger took his high technology company public – an event that provided the resources to begin investigating opportunities to own a Montana ranch.
On a trip to Montana from the Bay Area, Roger found himself at the Sun West Ranch where he met a local realtor, Shelby Hewitt and her husband Rich Hewitt; then the ranch managers for the Sun West Ranch. Shelby took a keen interest in Roger’s criteria for finding a ranch property that would perfectly suit his needs. “I really had some outlandish criteria,” quipped Lang. “I wanted at least 10,000 acres. I wanted the property to abut National Forest land. I wanted rivers and streams and cows and wildlife. I wanted it all.”
So what happened to Shelby Hewitt? She waited until she knew she had found something that truly met Roger’s expectations. Unbelievably, Shelby found not one but two ranches she felt would fit Roger in the same week. “Shelby called me on a Thursday, I chartered a plane the following Monday, and I made an offer on the Sun Ranch that Wednesday,” commented Lang. “The sellers countered on Thursday and I accepted their offer on Friday, so it only took eight days from the time Shelby called me to the time I purchased my piece of Montana.”
Through years of fishing the Madison River, Roger felt he knew enough about the Sun Ranch to buy it site unseen. “I just knew it was right for me, but Rich Hewitt insisted I come out to see it. Rich said, ‘Roger, you have no idea what the ranch truly looks like just by driving along Hwy 287 and the ranch boundary. You have to get on the ground to appreciate the magnitude of beauty within the Sun Ranch. You need to come and see it before you decide to make an offer.’ So I came and while eating lunch and gazing at the majestic Madison Range, I told Rich I was so thankful he insisted I see the ranch first hand,” Roger respectfully recalled.
The Hewitts took a personal and professional approach to finding a Montana ranch property that completely fulfilled Roger Lang’s requirements. “Seven H Land Company is the quintessential Buyer’s Broker,” stated Lang. “Unlike other realtors, they only represent the buyer and are only motivated to meet the buyer’s needs. Shelby called on me just once and it was truly the right call with the right property.” The real difference Roger noticed in other realtors was the fact that they took a “this property is close” approach, in essence asking him to settle for something less.
Roger was also impressed with the Hewitts attention to every detail. “While very knowledgeable about a great many things, when they did not know the answer they were honest about it and proceeded to find me the right expert to call upon. With respect to mineral rights, for example, Shelby suggested I talk with Dick Josephson, and that turned out to be the right call.”
According to Roger, “When you’re going to spend the significant sum required for a Montana ranch you want someone who really listens and who goes the extra mile.”
Seven H Land Company continues to be a valuable resource to Roger Lang and the Sun Ranch. “Just last week, we worked together on noxious weed abatement and growth in the Madison Valley being addressed through the Madison Valley Ranchlands Group,” noted Roger.
Roger feels Seven H Land Company has been instrumental in introducing him to key experts on topics ranging from ranch management and conservation, to wolves and water. “We’re conservationists,” said Lang. “Rich and Shelby orchestrated my connections with the right people and each person opens ten doors.”
Learn more about the Sun Ranch and Roger Lang’s conservationist approach to ranch management. http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2004/novdec/features/ranch.html
The Sun Ranch is one of the premier ranch holdings
in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. In the early
1900’s the Butler Family moved from the east to
Montana with a vision to acquire a substantial ranching
operation in the Madison Valley. The Butlers acquired
a number of homesteads in their quest to expand their
initial acquisition. They raised buffalo and Hereford cattle.
The ranch prospered over several decades before finally
being sold in the early 1970’s. After two successive
ownerships, Seven H Land Company represented the
Roger Lang family from Woodside, California in acquiring
some 25,000 acres lying within the Greater Yellowstone
Ecosystem, which was listed for $29,000,000 at the time.
Today the ranch is home to over 2,500 migratory elk during the winter months coming from as far away as Yellowstone National Park. Unique members of the wildlife community that call this place home include a wolf pack and a sow grizzly that has been observed with her cubs. Roger Lang, with his special interests relative to preserving threatened species, has also established a fish hatchery and built a spring fed lake to raise a source of genetically pure Westslope Cutthroat Trout to be used by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks in their effort to reestablish this endangered trout species in some of its original water habitat in and near the Madison River. A number of wildlife projects have been initiated on the ranch including wolf research studies, noxious weed control and wildlife friendly fencing. The ranch is presently managed in a manner that will assure wildlife can coexist with domestic livestock production.