The White Grass Dude Ranch is currently being rehabilitated for use as a preservation training facility and is scheduled for completion in 2016. The rehabilitation of the ranch began in 2005 when an Environmental Assessment was completed and a Finding of No Significant Impact was issued. In the summer of 2006, WCHP employees and volunteers began working on the site and have fully rehabilitated three cabins and stabilized the remaining ten structures. Historic windows and doors have been incrementally removed for rehabilitation in the Moose WCHP workshop. Other projects, such as the installation of the basic utility infrastructure, are being completed in conjunction with the cabin rehabilitations. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has pledged $950,000 (sourced from private donors) for the rehabilitation of the White Grass WCHP facility and a matching amount will be provided by the National Park Service. 

The rehabilitation of the White Grass Dude Ranch perfectly complements the goals of the Western Center for Historic Preservation. Firstly, the poor condition of the buildings provides an ideal hands-on classroom for log structure preservation training. Secondly, once rehabilitated, the layout and size of the ranch will fit the demands of a facility intended to support a regional park service staff, volunteers, students, and contractors interested in learning preservation techniques specific to rustic log architecture. 

Following the completion of the White Grass Dude Ranch rehabilitation, preservation projects will focus on other cultural resources in Grand Teton National Park, the Greater Yellowstone Area, and the Intermountain Region at large. The rehabilitation of White Grass represents the first major stride towards preserving a piece of the dude ranching past integral to the history of Wyoming, Jackson Hole, and Grand Teton National Park.

For more information on the White Grass Dude Ranch rehabilitation project, please visit our Projects page, the WCHP blog, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s White Grass website.