Own A Ranch On The Edge Of Zion Park

There is a sweet little ranch for sale adjacent to Zion Park. Called the Trees Ranch, it is 2,066 acres, on the East Fork of the Virgin River, just below Prunaweap Canyon on the edge of the park. It comes complete with its own 50 acre reservoir.

I would buy it today if I had $30 million.

The land has Zion-like qualities, which raises the question: Should land like this be held by private individuals?

Here's a link to the seller's website. National Parks Traveler has this article on the ranch. Below are excerpts:

Bordered on two sides by the national park, on another by the Canaan Mountain Wilderness, and on the fourth by U.S. Bureau of Land Management acreage, the Trees Ranch dates to 1982, when the late Jim Trees, who founded a New York City investment firm, was on the faculty of the Harvard Business School, and helped launch the Grand Canyon Trust, saw a landscape that rivaled the beauty of nearby Zion.

"Jim had the vision to assemble Trees Ranch starting in 1982 with the dream of making it a national park of this own, while bringing 200 acres of land into organic production. He dedicated himself to a conservation ethic for the rest of his life and was an excellent steward of this land as a result," says Bill Budinger, a friend of Mr. Trees and a fellow Grand Canyon Trust board member.

The sellers, heirs to Mr. Trees, hope to see the 2,066-acre ranch sold to conservation-minded individuals or organizations that will run the operation as did Mr. Trees.

Do you know anyone with $30 million? We could subdivide the property and sell condos.

- Dave Webb