A while back, our LandTrust CEO and Founder, Nic De Castro, sat down with Jacob Hendrix, the host at Roadcast, to discuss the future of land ownership. Roadcast is a youtube channel that shares interesting stories of inspirational and design-minded people. Their motto is to uncover design inspiration wherever the road leads...
About the author: John Hansen is a Nebraska Landowner bringing his ideas and perspective to the forefront of our mission; to partner with landowners who value adaptive management and are seeking alternative sources of revenue. With an education in Animal and Range Sciences from Montana State University, several years managing small to medium sized ranches, and 26 years with Ted Turner managing some of the largest land holdings in the U.S., John brings a depth of knowledge and experience to LandTrust and its landowner partners. His strong background in agriculture and natural resource management provides a unique opportunity to share what he has learned through this extensive experience base with landowners to help them achieve a more profitable Land Business.
Colton Kramer made a promise to his girlfriend this year that he would take her deer hunting for the first time and that it would be a great experience. But when his plans to take her to a friend’s ranch suddenly fell through, he turned to LandTrust.
LandTrust sportsman, CJ Randazzo, recently traveled from Stillwater, MN to Bozeman, MT for an elk hunt.
About the author: John Hansen is a Nebraska Landowner bringing his ideas and perspective to the forefront of our mission; to partner with landowners who value adaptive management and are seeking alternative sources of revenue. With an education in Animal and Range Sciences from Montana State University, several years managing small to medium sized ranches, and 26 years with Ted Turner managing some of the largest land holdings in the U.S., John brings a depth of knowledge and experience to LandTrust and its landowner partners. His strong background in agriculture and natural resource management provides a unique opportunity to share what he has learned through this extensive experience base with landowners to help them achieve a more profitable Land Business.
About the author: John Hansen is a Nebraska Landowner bringing his ideas and perspective to the forefront of our mission; to partner with landowners who value adaptive management and are seeking alternative sources of revenue. With an education in Animal and Range Sciences from Montana State University, several years managing small to medium sized ranches, and 26 years with Ted Turner managing some of the largest land holdings in the U.S., John brings a depth of knowledge and experience to LandTrust and its landowner partners. His strong background in agriculture and natural resource management provides a unique opportunity to share what he has learned through this extensive experience base with landowners to help them achieve a more profitable Land Business.
In my previous LandTrust Blog, Land Ownership - View It as a Business, I encouraged landowners to view their land as a business and to begin to analyze their asset for the various attributes, products, and values that can be monetized to contribute to the land revenue. If you have worked on that process, you have probably come up with the standard consumptive/extractive type products such as: livestock production, crop production, timber production, and mineral extraction (mining, oil, coal, etc.). You may have also listed “experience based” products such as: hunting, fishing, bird watching, nature/ecology tours, camping, hiking, agricultural experience visits, agricultural educational tours, and rural wedding packages. The “additive/ecosystem services” products you have identified may be: carbon sequestration, water retention, soil retention, wildlife habitat improvements, or pollinator habitat enhancements.
Through LandTrust, birders are now able to access some of the most biodiverse lands in the country. For example, Nebraska is part of the Central Flyway that provides habitat for 10’s of millions of migratory birds every year. The shallow wetlands of the western Sandhills present a playground for an abundance of avian wildlife, with bird populations exploding across the remote country fields. LandTrust’s recreation access network includes many new listings in this diverse Nebraska region, opening access to over 160,000 acres of private land that are humming with bird calls.
LandTrust is the recreation access network that connects landowners to outdoor enthusiasts looking for higher quality experiences. In the process, we are working on opening millions of acres of private land for people to explore. Our recreators range from hunters/sportsmen and fishermen to wildlife photographers and mushroom foragers. Most recently, we have introduced birding to our network.
Miles and miles of rolling green hills as far as the eye can see; the wide-open space of a working cattle ranch could seem rather monotonous at first glance. Cattle grazing in a field with not much else on their agenda other than to continue eating. However, if one were to zoom in on a 10,000 acre ranch in the heart of Nebraska, they would see that there’s much more to this wild habitat than first meets the eye. Deer are stalking in the distance, taking advantage of the lush green grass to eat. Prairie chickens are popping up to say hello, while waterfowl flock on the pothole prairie ponds. Fish are dancing in the nearby lake as they feed on minnows and small insects. Meanwhile, those cows are back in the field, swishing their tails back and forth to the rhythm of a bird call in the distance.
Nebraska sits at the heart of our country. To most travelers, Nebraska might be considered a ‘flyover’ state as they bounce from coast to coast. From the Appalachian Mountains to the Rocky Mountains, the serene corn fields and majestic sandhills appear to be desolate as one looks out their window from an airplane. 430 miles across a sleepy and tranquil state, little does the onlooker realize the hum of activity happening below. Turns out this flyover state fills the same purpose for most bird species as they migrate during shoulder seasons. The difference is that these birds stop to take in the view from the ground.