Ask just about any rancher if you could put a public access trail on his ranch, and the rest of the conversation probably wouldn’t go so well.
And who could blame the rancher?
Just think of all the things that could go wrong: People wandering off the trails, people leaving litter behind, people stressing out cattle.
Those were just a few of the thoughts Sheridan’s Don Roberts had when a member of the Sheridan Community Land Trust approached him in 2012 with the crazy idea of putting a public access trail on his private ranch.
“We were like every other ranch at the time,” Roberts said. “We had lots of ‘No Trespassing' signs up.”
But Roberts also thought about how lucky he’d been to grow up with the beauty of the Bighorn Mountains always nearby, a place where his feet touched the earth every day and his hat the sky.
“I experienced the foothills of the Bighorns here, and never really gave it too much thought,” he said. "Then I was lucky enough to be traveling around a little bit, and I noticed in other states how much desire there was to get out into wide-open spaces.”
So, when the Land Trust asked him about a hiking trail on his ranch, he didn’t laugh and tell them to take a hike. He took a huge leap of faith instead. He gave them an initial 3-mile segment of his property as an experiment, just to see what would happen.
Today that trail has become known as the Soldier Ridge Trail. It’s a prized, off-the-beaten-track gem just west of Sheridan’s city limits used by hundreds of people each week.
Peer Pressure Can Be Amazing
The Soldier Ridge project started small and experimental. Roberts couldn’t be sure this was a good idea, or a huge Pandora’s box of problems he’d allowed to open up on his land.
To his surprise, the problems remained relatively minor.
Yes, some people did wander off trail, and yes, some people did use the trail after hours, particularly in the beginning. There was occasional litter, and sometimes people failed to keep pets on a leash, which can be stressful to cattle.
But Sheridan Land Trust was relentless about educating the public when it came to good stewardship of the trail. People using the trail also pitched in with a bit of peer pressure along the way.
The trail users were also an extra pair of eyes on the land, and they would report any time they saw something that might need attention. A sick cow, a cow with a face full of porcupine quills. It was a little like the proverbial village that helps raise a child, except the child in this case was a huge ranch — too big for any one person to watch by themselves.
“The response I got was so great from people wanting to be out there and thanking the Land Trust and thanking me,” Roberts said. “I was glad I was able to do it. There was definitely trepidation with letting people on the land. Like I told the Land Trust, that’s kind of a paradigm shift, certainly not what a rancher usually does.”
Ultimately, the Land Trust did such a good job protecting the trail that when they asked to place another trail in a different location, Roberts felt comfortable saying “yes" with no hesitation.
“Then there was another trail connecting the two, about a 7-mile trail connecting the two,” Roberts said. “So, it just kind of snowballed.”
A Legacy That Protects Views For Western Sheridan
Roberts has no regrets about creating a public trail on his private ranch.
In fact, he’s been so pleased with how things went, he created an easement in 2019 to protect the working land around the first half of the trail. More recently, he donated 544 acres surrounding the trail — valued at $3.75 million — to the Sheridan Community Land Trust to manage in perpetuity.
The deal includes easements for his ranch to continue grazing and using the land as before but allows the Land Trust to further conservation efforts on the land, including establishment of the Gillispie Draw Natural Area, Ridgetop Natural Area, and the Hidden Hoot Conservation Easement.
In all, the Land Trust is now protecting 2,100 acres of working ranch land, wildlife habitat and open space on Sheridan’s western frontier.
“This land borders Sheridan,” Roberts said. “It’s the foothills right west of Sheridan and the viewshed and character of Sheridan, in my opinion, is so dependent on those hills which have had Indian traffic and buffalo on them and have looked the same forever.
“I wanted the Land Trust to be in charge of all that,” Roberts continued. “They’ve been a very good steward of the trail system, and I just thought they would be the best people, after I’m gone, to be a steward of all that land.”
A Community Effort Makes It Work
Sheridan Community Land Trust Executive Director Brad Bauer believes one reason the project did so well was the commitment of the broader community. Volunteers showed up to help build and maintain trails time and time again and have continued to show up.
“There have been bumps in the road,” Bauer said. “We’ve had people who left litter or maybe accessed the trail at times they were closed. But I think it’s been patience on his side as well as ours, and continuous community education from us on the radio, newspaper, social media, newsletters, articles, trail ambassadors and volunteers, which have reminded people of the privilege and the opportunity that this trail provides for them.”
Even those using the trail, who are not formal volunteers, pitch in, Bauer added.
“We have more volunteers than we even know about,” he said. “There’s trail work that gets done that we don’t even know who did it. Our trail recreation program director will get an email or phone call that a tree is down on the trail, but by the time we get up there, the problem has already been managed.”
Where History, Conservation, And Recreation All Meet
Soldier Ridge Trail follows an exposed ridge that offers an unobstructed view of the Bighorn Mountains, making it a popular spot for photography.
But the corridor is also a gateway to history. It’s long been a vital route for humans living in the area, so it lends itself well to a walking tour with stories about Plains Indian tribes, European settlement, conflicts along the Bozeman Trail, and the development of agriculture in the Goose Valley.
History, recreation, and the conservation of working ranches are the Land Trust’s three main missions.
Recreation is obvious with the trails, while the historical walking tours help with the second. For the third aspect of that mission, the Land Trust plans to help convert existing fences to wildlife friendly ones, and work to improve the quality of soil and vegetation, Sheridan Land Trust Director of Conservation and Resource Management John Graves told Cowboy State Daily.
“We’re looking at how we can help manage the invasive grasses that are on the property,” Graves said. “How can we remove those invasive grasses from the property and bring back those native grasses that both the wildlife and the livestock can utilize better, encouraging a healthier overall landscape.”
They’ll also look at the reservoirs on the property and explore ways to improve them for both livestock use as well as wildlife habitat.
“How can we overall improve that habitat for wildlife, allow people to still use it to recreate, and allow the rancher to still use the land for his livestock operation and make a living for himself,” Graves said. “We want to ensure that all three of those key elements are looked at on each of our decisions.”
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
