Project Statement
As ranching and agricultural properties
in the western United States face increasing pressure
for development, there is a significant role for consultants
who work with these landowners. The opportunity to maintain
and even enhance these private holdings can help to
preserve the regional landscape. An appropriate land
management program can render a private land holding
just as beneficial to the long-term health of a regional
ecosystem as a public holding; we would maintain that
this is an example of sustainability in the broadest
sense of the word.
Wildhorse Ranch is adjacent to the Steens
Mountain Wilderness in southeastern Oregon, contained
by descending ridges of Steens Mountain and the Alvord
Desert, and bisected by Wildhorse Creek. The ranch represents
a significant private ownership within the Great Basin
Ranching territory and lies within the Pacific Flyway,
thirty miles from the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
As stewards of the land, the current owners and the
consultant team have been engaged in a dialogue about
balance, looking for land management solutions that
are ecologically sustainable and culturally appropriate
and yet still supportive of on-going ranching operations.
This mindset offers an opportunity to implement an effective
ranch management program; restore native habitat; and
integrate a building program that considers the context
of both the cultural and the natural landscape.
The current owner of Wildhorse Ranch developed
a love for this land as a young man, walking its hills
and valleys. His history with the region and appreciation
for the land provided a mandate for the consultant team
to design with respect for the land and to intervene
appropriately with the knowledge that these interventions
would have lasting benefit. His valued art collection
is an indication of his interests, and reflects an interpretation
of the natural landscape and wildlife, from the conceptual
and contemporary to the representational and centuries
old. His art collection analyzes, interprets, and reveals
the world around him. His wish is that his ranch does
the same.
With the above objectives in mind, the
consultant team looked to the region and the land itself
for guidance. Often the inventory and analysis phase
of a project is overlooked or rushed in search of solutions,
but the ultimate success of this project lies in the
patience afforded these efforts. In every case, the
planning and design solutions for Wildhorse Ranch evolved
from the combination of understanding good regional
ranches (those which have withstood the test of time)
and the specific knowledge derived from a thorough exploration
of the land. A comprehensive analysis of the land provided
insight into the intrinsic qualities of each place within
the ranch property, past alterations, localized ecosystems,
and opportunities for future use. Tours of large ranches
in the region began to shed light on ways of planning
and designing that were not only appropriate but of
lasting quality.
This analysis was expressed throughout
the ranch master planning effort and ultimately in the
development of the design concepts and solutions, and
even in the graphic portrayal of these items. The analysis,
planning, and design for the ranch can best be discussed
in three categories: the ranch management program, restoration
of native habitat, and placemaking. An unwavering commitment
to design solutions that are appropriate and sustainable
has guided and will continue to guide every phase of
implementation and ensure that Wildhorse Ranch leaves
a lasting legacy.
The Ranch Management Program:
Ranchlands in this semi-arid environment have been grazed
for over 100 years. Coupled with inefficient irrigation
practices, the result has led to significant disturbance
and degradation to the land. Wildhorse Ranch offered
an opportunity to address grazing operations in a manner
that would be more sustainable. An understanding of
the principles of holistic ranch management coupled
with an in-depth analysis of this property allowed
the consultant team to define areas for agricultural
use and areas for restoration of native habitat. Active
management of the livestock (rotational grazing) would
allow for grazing to be focused on those portions of
the land most accepting of high intensity usage. With
a more defined agricultural activity zone, we could
then define and implement proper irrigation techniques
and grazing activities could be moved out of erosive
zones. A by-product of this approach was that the entire
ranch no longer needed to be fenced; fencing was only
required around the much smaller agricultural zone and
could be designed either to disappear or as a feature
within the landscape. With agriculture activities defined,
restoration of steppe grasslands and native habitat
was now possible. Grazing outside fenced areas need
only occur in the spring in an effort to manage the
invasive cheatgrass, allowing native grasses to naturally
reestablish and eventually flourish.
Restoration of Native Habitat:
Water is certainly precious in this semi-arid
environment and an understanding of both current and
historic water patterns has allowed for restoration
of lost riparian zones and development of more efficient
irrigation in the agricultural zone. Early settlers
harnessed water from the creek and from a naturally
occurring spring on the property for agricultural purposes,
thereby altering the historic drainage patterns. They
diverted water out of Wildhorse Creek into manmade irrigation
channels which caused once active stream braids to stop
flowing. These historic braids remain evident in the
landscape today marked by sage covered channels and
huge decaying cottonwood stumps. The ranch’s current
manmade irrigation channels were not properly maintained
and were not efficient for balanced irrigation of large
pieces of land. Further analysis found that a more efficient
irrigation system could be provided by restoring the
historic braided channels. With water flowing once again
through the stream braids, small reservoirs could be
created for irrigation use, and then distributed appropriately
throughout the agricultural zones. These water bodies
create a logical, uphill boundary for the agricultural
activities while Wildhorse Creek, which bisects the
property, serves as an obvious downhill boundary for
the edge of this zone. The reintroduction of water into
these channels provides an opportunity to not only restore
but also to enhance the property’s riparian habitat.
Species occurrence data from GIS mapping
provided an understanding of significant indicator species
for this area and guided decisions with regard to habitat
restoration. An analysis of the historic drainage channels
exposed opportunities to develop a variety of distinct
water bodies. Steep gradients (over 2 percent) typical of the
northern half of the historic watercourses are optimal
for fast moving streams; lesser gradients (less than
2 percent) are ideal for slow moving streams. Within these
two zones, there exists a variety of opportunities for
riparian habitat. Floodplains and sandbar deposits are
ideal roosts for birds feeding on the water’s
abundant insect life. Existing depressions provide natural
locations for ponds of varying size, depth, and bank
conditions. Undercut banks, steep banks, and gradual
banks each create habitat for invertebrates, and fish,
and birds who feed on the insects that live in the sedges
and rushes. The open water of a pond is an invitation
to migrating waterfowl. Relatively level areas are optimal
for development into meadow marsh, shallow marsh and
deepwater marshes. Marsh habitat attracts small mammals,
frogs, egrets, cranes, herons and other migratory birds.
Mature and dead cottonwood trees in these areas provide
roosts for raptors that depend on marsh habitat for
hunting.
This dramatic increase in habitat was
a wish of the owners and is consistent with habitat
that might have existed historically on the ranch. Given
the migratory patterns of wildlife and waterfowl within
the region, these improvements should encourage a variety
of species that likely once lived on the ranch to return.
The consultant team created cross-sections of six different
water bodies, indicating the distinct characteristics
and potential habitat of each. The cross-sections are
a tool to guide restoration of these channels in both
design and construction.
Placemaking: The design
for the ranch focused on three considerations: 1) how
it would be integrated within this special landscape;
2) how it would be experienced; and 3) how it would
be occupied. A series of studies were explored in an
effort to achieve a natural settlement, both in program
allocation and site distribution. Existing and potential
building locations were evaluated in combination with
an understanding of cultural building patterns in the
Great Basin. A working ranch requires a barn and a variety
of out buildings along with access to each of the building
sites; the family requires living quarters; and all
must be evaluated within the context of the landscape.
The master plan considered the building
program and vehicular circulation in a holistic and
integrated manner. A traditional source of pride on
a ranch is its barn and accompanying corrals. A new
barn structure flanked by out buildings is located at
the terminus of the public roadway. Buildings are clustered
to create a central courtyard with commanding views
up the Wildhorse valley into the Steens wilderness and
down the valley and across the irrigated fields to the
expansive landscape below. The courtyard, as found on
other regional ranches, is not only functional but has
a social importance as well. All of the day-to-day ranching
operations are accommodated while also providing a community
gathering spot, a place for neighboring ranchers and
townsfolk to meet and greet.
The primary residence is located on a
sage covered gentle slope above the waterways and pastures
within walking distance of the barn. Careful review
of homes located in exposed environments throughout
the region taught us to use both aspect and vegetation
when building. Consequently, the home will open to the
north into an historic orchard which will provide shade
during hot summer months and serve as protection from
the winter winds. An outdoor living space to the south
of the home will allow for southern sun during cooler
months and spectacular views of the agricultural lands
as well as down the valley.
Regional ranch buildings informed design
decisions and directions. Buildings, corrals, and fencing
are all derived from this contextual understanding.
As proposed, new construction is traditional in form,
tied directly to function, and grounded in a philosophy
that structures should carefully occupy the landscape.
Construction utilizes indigenous approaches to building,
where materials, crafts, and solutions are available.
Local stone and local masonry construction techniques
provide a durable, handsome, and efficient means to continue
a regional and sustainable architecture.
In the end, our initial inventory and
analysis informed and guided every subsequent decision
from master planning through design and ultimately into
construction. We have studied the soil of the place
understanding its natural vegetation, structure, slope,
and drainage. We have observed the order and patterns
of the cultural landscape. Working in concert with the
owner and the land in its broadest context, we hope
that the proposed strategy for improving the overall
health of Wildhorse Ranch provides a lasting legacy
for both the ranch and the region, one that is both
appropriate and sustainable.
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Project Resources |
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Site
Planner & Landscape Architect:
DHM
Design
Dave Carpenter, Jason Jaynes, Charlie Kees, Laura
Kirk, and Stephanie Kobald
Artist and Project Manager:
Tad Savinar
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Architect:
Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership - Architecture/Planning/Interior
Design, Greg Baldwin, Jerry Waters, Mark Foster,
Jerome Unterreiner, John Breshears, Jim Gomez,
and Ron Stewart
Ecologist:
Ellsperman Ecological Services
Stephen Ellsperman
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