Four generations of one family farmed the land beneath the western face of the Tetons before Darren Rude ever laid eyes on it.
The 432-acre ranch outside Alta came with weathered barns, irrigated fields and a century of Wyoming agricultural history.
Rude, founder of the nutritional supplement company Youtheory, said it was exactly what he and his wife spent years looking for — a place where their children and 13 grandchildren could someday gather, surrounded by cattle, hay fields and Wyoming's wide-open spaces.
Now that dream sits at the center of a Teton County land-use battle.
The Teton County Board of County Commissioners voted 2-1 last week to deny Rude permission to build a 6,438-square-foot agricultural barn on the property, siding with neighbors who argued the building was never intended to serve agriculture at all.
Within minutes of the vote, Rude announced he intends to sue.
"This case is illuminating a defining question and a fork in the road for Teton County," neighboring landowner Ken Fritschel told commissioners.
More Than A Barn
Both sides insist they support agriculture.
That much became clear during nearly four hours of testimony before the county commissioners.
Neighbor Sharon Shopper opened public comment by telling commissioners Alta has always been an agricultural community.
"This petition was not circulated because these folks oppose agriculture," she said. "Alta is an agricultural community. We live beside working farms and ranches."
Kristen Fritschel told commissioners she had no issue with the bar at first, but after a conversation with Rude's ranch hand, Malin Strong, she became concerned.
Rude told Cowboy State Daily the ranch hand was placing stakes to mark the proposed barn site when neighboring property owners asked what was planned.
"He said, 'We're building a barn here, and I'm going to live here, and we're going to almost have an amusement park. It's going to be so fun for kids," Rude recalled.
Rude said Strong described his own vision for the property with a zip line from the property's historic grain barn, a pond and other family activities.
Those comments, he says, reflected Strong's personal ideas, not the project's actual purpose.
Wildlife Versus Working Land
Other opponents focused on wildlife.
Eric Gene, who identified himself as a wildlife ecologist with more than four decades of experience, described South Leigh Creek as a critical wildlife corridor connecting habitat used by moose, elk, mule deer and other species.
"A large permanent structure," he argued, "can affect that wildlife movement through that South Leigh corridor."
Another ecologist said historical aerial photographs showed little evidence of sustained agricultural activity at the proposed building site during the two decades before Rude applied for his permit.
He argued the creek bottom had largely returned to natural habitat.
One opponent questioned whether the seven-acre area surrounding the proposed barn could naturally support cattle, and another argued the application changed repeatedly during the approval process, creating ambiguity over what was actually being proposed.
Neighbor Charles Baldwin pointed to electrical systems, plumbing and other features he believed looked more consistent with recreation than livestock.
'That's All BS'
The loudest defense of the project came from Jim Beard, who has worked the property for decades.
Standing before commissioners, Beard said the ranch continues to produce potatoes, grain and hay while supporting cattle.
"We're going to continue farming there," Beard said. "We could use the barn there to store hay."
He said generations of ranchers traditionally placed barns in the creek bottom because they were protected from Wyoming's fierce winter winds.
Beard also said he couldn't "believe all the hoopla going on," adding, "Everybody gets a little piece of paradise, and then they want to shut it down for other people."
What about claims the site would become a racetrack or recreational playground?
"That's all BS," Beard told commissioners.
Lawyers Clash, Commissioners Divide
Rude's attorney, Nicole Fleck, argued the county should evaluate the application based on what was actually submitted — a non-habitable agricultural structure — rather than speculation about future recreational uses.
The neighbors' attorney, Christine Kosydar, countered that the Planning Commission committed fundamental legal errors by recommending approval.
She argued the proposed building site itself was not actively farmed when the application was filed and said later revisions to the application could not cure those deficiencies.
Her presentation also argued the proposed barn sat too far from the property's primary agricultural activity and was too large relative to the existing operation.
When deliberations began, commissioners found themselves wrestling with a question neither side fully answered.
"I feel like we have a legitimate dispute about the primary purpose of this structure," said Commissioner Luther Propst.
After questioning county staff, Vice Chair Wes Gardner said he believed the county's land development regulations gave priority to agricultural exemptions over Natural Resource Overlay restrictions.
"I have no reason to distrust Mr. Rude's affidavit whatsoever," Gardner said before casting the lone vote to approve the permit.
Chair Mark Newcomb and Propst voted no.
Commissioners Len Carlman and Natalia Macker were absent.
Headed To Court
Rude has said he plans to challenge the decision in court, arguing the county improperly denied an application that complied with its land development regulations.
For neighbors, the case has always been about protecting one of Alta's most sensitive wildlife corridors.
For Rude, it has become a fight over whether a working ranch can still build the agricultural infrastructure he says it needs.
The lawsuit will ultimately decide whether county commissioners correctly interpreted Teton County's land-use regulations.
Rude says he believes the stakes are much larger.
"The law that was supposed to protect a man's property decided a line on a map mattered more than the man who worked it for years," he wrote.
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
