Date Creek

If this was my ranch I'd be too busy hiking the riparian area to get anything done.

While Savannah and Ryan Barteau can’t do that because this is their family’s working ranch, they do see the value of the riparian area and have applied for a conservation easement to protect it from development or sale.

Recently Savannah was happy to take time off to lead a few Sierra Club members on a short hike through that riparian area, which is open to hikers. Savannah asks only that we give them a heads up when we’re coming. “We love people and like to see them come out,” she said.

We only hiked about 1.5 miles, but you can hike seven miles round-trip from the ranch to the neighboring property line. Plan on getting wet, maybe up over your boots, as you’ll be walking through the stream. 

This part of the stream appears to be flowing year-round; the lower part is underground except during particularly heavy rain.

On our short hike we were able to see a couple of tortoises, blue-jay feathers as they were passing through, and the last remaining butterflies before colder weather sets in.

That’s only a hint of the range of wildlife the Barteaus have seen here over the years. Turkeys, black bears, javelinas and bobcats are among the many visitors, along with a wide array of birds — Eric Moore of The Lookout leads bird tours here at least once a year.

This is the northernmost area for seeing grey hawks, and several zone-tailed hawks maintain nests here.

The fall colors were out during our hike among the wide array of tree species, including cottonwood, ash, and mulberry, and don’t miss the blackberry bushes.

Arizona Game and Fish has been out here to survey the stream’s dace and other fish. We had the opportunity to see a whole school of dace.

The conservation easement that Date Creek Ranch has been working on for more than two years involves federal and state funds to protect the area while current uses, including ranching and agriculture, continue. The ranch covers 3,800 acres, and the protected riparian area within is about 600 acres. The conservation easement will keep that from being sold in the future.

Phil Knight purchased the ranch in the 1960s, but it goes back much further than that: the family has converted a 1910 building into a bed and breakfast where people can enjoy the ranch and riparian area.

In the 1990s the ranchers reintroduced beavers to Date Creek, and now there are healthy beaver dams. They see the beavers occasionally, but we missed them on our hike.

Savannah likes to point out the little guys in the riparian area, which includes cucumber beetles.

Savannah married into the ranching family eleven years ago and now, having found her slice of heaven, she doesn’t want to be anywhere else.

She said that one of the amazing things about Date Creek is watching it change with flooding. It exhibited 500-year floods in 1999, 2002 and 2004. Trying doing that math!

The pending conservation easement is a great example of how ranchers can work with the environment. Make no mistake, this is a working ranch, with cattle, sheep and chickens, not to mention the friendly, oversized dogs and a couple of cats who like to cuddle. The ranch sells its premium meats. 

Steffan Wolf, Ryan’s stepdad who married into the ranching family years ago, said the Forest Service supports the conservation easement, but it’s on hold till the government approves the grant. The recent federal shutown has delayed it further, but Wolf expects it to be approved within a year.

“It’s just a matter of working out the details,” he said. “It’s pretty far along in the process.”

Date Creek Ranch is 90 minutes from Prescott, still in Yavapai County. For more information, phone the ranch at 928-231-9058.

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