On a beautiful August morning with a slight chill and coolness to the air, 8 others and I are going up and down ravines and carrying our tools and clip aprons. Aspen, sage, creeping juniper, prairie grasses and wildflowers are our carpet and support as we work by climbing and descending coulees. Then the Bobcat with a wire winder follows to get rid of the culprit we are trying to replace. And finally removing posts with the skidsteer or in steeper spots by loosening it by leaning back and forth until the soil relinquishes its prisoner that it held for the life of that post.
The Kostelecky ranch located just east of Grassy Butte has amazing habitat for elk, mule deer, grouse, pheasants, pronghorn antelope, and other wildlife. Logan has been working with Mule Deer Foundation (MDF), ND Game and Fish (NDGF), Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF), and North Dakota Wildlife Federation (NDWF) to try to make improvements to his family’s ranch for his livestock operation and wildlife.
Logan and his dad have a strong passion for cattle and wildlife. They want to improve the ranch operation for wildlife. Logan wants to take down 3 miles of fence that has caused damage to wildlife and their habitat. He is working with MDF and NDWF to replace a mile and half of old fence with Wildlife Friendly fence and remove another mile and half of hazardous fence. Logan has seen areas where wildlife was impacted by the old fence and wants to prevent more damage to wildlife by removing unnecessary fences and replacing the needed fences with more wildlife friendly construction.
Volunteers from Rainbow Energy Center coming from Underwood, ND; a volunteer from Minot Air Force base; MDF staff; NDWF staff; and the Kosteleckys worked to pull fence. The Bobcat company works with MDF to provide machines at no charge to work on pulling posts and winding wire. The volunteers work to pull clips and gather up posts.
Logan’s parents John and Brenda own the ranch, and Logan is in the process of taking over the family business. Supporting young ranchers is key to protecting North Dakota grasslands. North Dakota is losing its grasslands and by supporting ranchers, we can save the prairies we have left. The work done near Grassy Butte preserves some beautiful country making it better for mule deer, grouse, pheasants, elk and pronghorn antelope.
Logan identified a 1 mile of fence located along 122nd Ave NW and a 3,189 ft stretch along the south boundary of Section 27 where Mule Deer Foundation would organize a workday to take out the fence. MDF worked on property Logan rents by Beulah Bay in May 2024 to remove fence and then replace at a cost share of $1.29/ foot. MDF did not have funds to replace the 8,469 feet of fence in McKenzie County. Using the Holmes funds, NDWF will help this new rancher by helping tear out a fence that is not wildlife friendly and replace it with a wildlife friendly fence. The mile stretch of fence will be moved away from 122nd Ave NW. Currently, because of the hillside and road, snow sits on the fence and causes issues with the fence. Replacing the fence and repositioning it to a better location will be better for wildlife and his operation. In the future, Logan plans to work with the McKenzie County Soil Conservation District to plant new wildlife friendly trees and remove the old tree line which is a stand of dying Siberian (Chinese) elm trees.
The 3,189 feet stretch of fence is on a hillside and has areas of woven wire where Logan and his dad have observed mule deer get hung up.
Logan is an avid hunter and allows hunting on his land with permission. He has 7-8 elk hunters every year. Throughout deer season (archery and gun), Logan gives permission to 1-2 hunters/ weekend. He has signs posted with his phone number so hunters can call and ask. Every year, Logan hosts a participant from The Outdoor Adventure Foundation to come and hunt on his land. Typically, it is a youth with cancer or other life-threatening illness. He is also working with an organization to open a weekend to have a military veteran hunt on his land.
Working with private landowners and ranch operators is a winning combination for conservation. This creates a connection between hunters and landowners that benefits both and most of all benefits the species we want to protect.
