Landowner Backs Out On Sale
Of Ranch To Activist Group

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — A landowner has decided against selling the largest ranch on the Kaibab Plateau north of the Grand Canyon to an anti-grazing activist group. Some area residents had protested the deal, saying it could lead to the elimination of grazing on the 600,000-plus-acre Kane Ranch.

Owner David Gelbaum and the town of Fredonia issued a news release last week saying that Gelbaum won't sell his property to the Grand Canyon Trust, a group that has spoken out against grazing and logging.

The news wasn't all bad for the group, as the Grand Canyon Trust will serve on the ranch's advisory committee.

"The only thing better than owning the ranch is being able to help with the conservation and not having to bear the financial risk and do all the logistics of the actual management," said Rick Johnson, a spokesman for the group.

Johnson said the Trust had considered buying the ranch as a way of taking advantage of "the single greatest conservation opportunity in Arizona and perhaps the whole Southwest."

The Fredonia Town Council reacted with alarm when it learned of the pending deal several weeks ago.

"We were concerned that the way of the Western cowboy was going to be taken away from this part of the country," said Fredonia Councilwoman Joy Jordan, adding that the town also wanted the dozen or so ranch hands to keep their jobs. "Our biggest concern was that the whole American way of life was going to be eradicated from this area."

The ranch is located in an isolated area north of the Grand Canyon called the Arizona Strip.