Grant-Kohrs Ranch Administrative History

The master plan, released early in 1973, clarified the lands issues. In the case of Grant-Kohrs Ranch NHS, the less-than-fee strategy was manifested in the Service's objective of purchasing only about 200 acres and securing easements on more than 1200 acres. The problem of visitor access, addressed in the previous chapter, initially involved the potential donation of 26 acres of Deer Lodge city-owned land at the southeast corner of the boundary. The city, while willing to promote the park by such a donation, stipulated that the parcel be developed as a picnic area and that the Park Service's extension of Rainbow Street be made available as an emergency route to the west part of the town. [9]

The Park Service approached the Warrens early on with an offer to purchase the small parcel of land containing their residence and a bit of pasture. Despite the guarantee of a life tenure, Con and Nell rejected the idea. Mrs. Warren, particularly, was opposed to this arrangement because she felt that she might be uprooted from her home if it were conveyed to the government. Unfounded as her fears may have been, she nevertheless was unwilling to take that risk. To avoid upsetting the Warrens over this matter, Vernon Hennesay, liaison for the ranch during that time, advised the Midwest Regional Office that Con should "not be approached until it is entirely appropriate." [10] By April 1973 however, Con confided to Hennesay that he favored NPS acquisition of his remaining property, but in deference to his wife's health he was not prepared to enter into any formal negotiations at that time. [11]

Con was concerned about the possible loss of the land on the west side of the river. While he understood the reasons behind Park Service's desire to assume a degree of control over that part of the ranch, he was reluctant to sell the parcel. He hoped that an easement might suffice. This was, after all, some of his best hay meadow. Hennesay attempted to clarify the Service's concerns by explaining that someone leasing those lands in the future might not have the same degree of sensitivity for the values of the Site that Con had. Another person, Hennesay reasoned, could "come in and clear off the woods on the bottom land and turn it into a haying field, which would completely change the complex of the river bottom." [12] Warren agreed to think it over. He later worked out an arrangement to sell enough of this tract to provide a corridor to protect the river bottom from the park's southern boundary northward to a point 330 feet inside Sections 28 and 29. The odd division resulted from Warren's north corral straddling the section line at that point. The east-west line of this property extended to the railroad right-of-way. The sale was concluded in February 1973. [13]

Hennesay also feared that undesirable development might occur on Tract 01-102, which had no restrictive covenant. This long, narrow parcel, containing about 37 acres, lay north of Warren's residence and was bordered on the east by the highway and on the west by the midline of Section 28. When Hennesay broached the idea to him, Warren did not understand just why development there might adversely affect the park, when, in his mind, it was the old ranch headquarters that was important. Apparently, he had not yet recognized that his modern operation would one day become an integral part of the park's interpretive story. He nevertheless agreed to sell an easement to the NPS in December 1973. [14]

The only other land transaction to occur over the next couple of years was when Con sold a tiny tract, No. 112, along the eastern border of the Site near his home in July 1975. [15] These acquisitions increased the total fee holdings in the park to 216.79 acres.

By that time, Mrs. Warren's health was deteriorating and Con's debts were mounting. "It was terrible," he recalled, "it just soaked up a herd of cattle and a couple of years of operating expenses and everything ...." [16] The proposition of selling additional portions of his ranch land to the Park Service became more appealing. Con decided to relinquish major segments of the easement lands. Despite the small purchase earlier that same year, however, the NPS was forced to decline the offer because the congressionally-imposed ceiling would not allow the purchase of the additional lands proffered. And, the addition of these 829.94 acres would be a costly proposition for the Service. Superintendent Richard Peterson set the wheels in motion for acquiring this land by preparing a legislative support package to increase the monetary ceiling for lands acquisition. But, he warned Con that it would be 1977, at the earliest, before any action could be taken. [17] It would indeed prove to be a long road.

Meantime, the Park Service continued to negotiate the land deal with Warren, a mistake that would prove costly to the heretofore cordial relationship enjoyed between the rancher and his new government neighbors. With Nell Warren confined to a rest home in Great Falls, Con and Park Service officials continued their periodic discussions relative to Tracts 115 and 117. Progress was slow, however. Valuing the house at $65,000.00 and the land at $400,000.00, Warren reminded the NPS that they were "cutting the heart out of the ranch" and leaving him with scraps of land that would be of little use to a livestock operation. [18] By the end of 1977, Con revised his offer to include only Tract 115, north of his house along the east side of the railroad, and Tract 117, the large meadow extending west of the river and all the way north to the city sewage lagoon. These he offered to sell for the same amount he had proposed earlier. The residence, apparently, was no longer under consideration. [19]

The following year NPS officials thought they had discovered a means by which the restrictions of the enabling legislation might be circumvented. A congressional action passed in June 1977 amended the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to permit federal agencies to exceed their monetary ceilings for land acquisition by ten percent, or $1,000,000.00, whichever was greater. This windfall would have been more than enough to cover the $402,000.00 needed to purchase Warren's two tracts and, better still, the money was available to be reprogrammed from Canaveral National Seashore. All of the necessary pieces had fallen into place, or so it appeared. [20]

Just when it seemed that success was imminent, the Interior Budget Office reviewed the proposal. While they admitted that P. L. 95-42 would legally permit the ceiling to be raised, the Washington staff perceived conflicts with both the intent of the law and the park's enabling legislation. The modification of the Land and Water Conservation Act, in their opinion, was a response to escalating land values lying within national park boundaries. [21] They argued that the purpose of the law was to enable the Service to purchase such lands immediately at current prices. Had that been the only consideration, Grant-Kohrs Ranch probably would have qualified. But, the Department cautioned, the reports of the 1972 congressional hearings revealed "that they expected the Site to be made up of 208 acres acquired in fee and approximately 1,200 acres on which scenic easements would be obtained." Accordingly, Congress based the land acquisition monetary ceiling of $350,000.00 on this estimate. Had the legislators envisioned a larger taking in fee title, reasoned the Budget Office, they would have approved a larger initial appropriation for that purpose.

Since the park already owned 216 acres in fee and had easements on 1,105 acres, the pattern of ownership was almost exactly that contemplated when the legislation was passed. In disapproving the request, Interior Budget Officer Frank Wilson concluded his remarks by pointing out that, "Clearly this reprogramming proposal is not a result of rising prices, but rather a desire on the part of the Park Service to substantially change the land ownership at the Site. We believe that amendatory legislation . . . should be submitted to the Congress on this matter." [22] Interior thus "slammed down the window of opportunity," as former superintendent Vaughan related in a 1996 interview. [23]

In hindsight, it would appear that the NPS might have been too conservative in its original land estimates, probably to appease Con Warren and perhaps to avoid giving Congress the impression that the government was out to unnecessarily annex productive private lands. That short-sighted strategy may have been sound enough at the time the NPS was negotiating for the ranch, but the modest figures submitted to Congress proved to be a detriment over the long term. Despite the final legislative language limiting the Site to 2,000 acres, which the Service considered to be for the purpose of providing it some latitude in land matters, Washington Office legal analysts conceded that buying Con's 829 acres would "tip the ratio of fee to interest lands as to exceed any program anticipated by the Congress." [24]

The Department further argued that the Service had previously outlined the lands it needed to protect this historic scene, and that goal had already been accomplished. Now, it appeared that the additional purchase was "engendered more from the standpoint of the owner's willingness to sell the property than from actual park requirements." [25] That was true, at least in part. The Service was responding to Warren's offers, which stemmed from his personal financial difficulties, but at the same time NPS staff were of the opinion that if Warren sold his easement interests elsewhere, "we could have problems administering the area in the future." [26] The NPS clearly did not set out to acquire fee title to the additional lands, but when Warren's situation forced him to consider selling, the Service feared that upholding the loosely-worded easement with another owner might prove difficult, and legally expensive.

This, in fact, was the principal objection most field-level managers had to less-than-fee arrangements. While the original owner usually understood and abided by the covenants on the land, subsequent owners were often not fully informed about the restrictions until it was too late. They often felt cheated by both the seller and the Park Service. So, taking advantage of an option to purchase the Warren lands inside the boundary seemed like a prudent and legal move to everyone involved. [27]

Rancher Pete Cartwright mowing with horses, 1978.
(Courtesy Grant-Kohrs Ranch NHS)

Although the Department had torpedoed the quick-fix plan for acquiring the Warren lands, all was not lost. Art Eck, the legislative affairs officer in the Washington Office, subsequently advised Regional Director Lynn Thompson to restructure and bolster the justification to support a change in the authorizing legislation. Eck expressed his cautious optimism that an "omnibus bill" then pending in the House of Representatives just might be a vehicle by which such an amendment could be accomplished. However, he echoed the Department's concern that two principal questions would have to be answered in the new justification: 1) how would the historic scene be better protected by fee acquisition, than by easements; and 2) what was the justification for a historic livestock operation at the Site?

The NPS-Warren relationship suffered the greatest damage as the result of the bureaucratic haggling. "Mr. Warren . . . has become much less cooperative with the National Park Service," Acting Regional Director Kenneth Ashley noted. He may not have realized then just how serious the damage was. Superintendent Tom Vaughan, who had arrived at the Site in October 1977, just in time to inherit the land issue, recorded in his 1978 annual report that Con's "reaction to our inability to complete the contemplated deal inhibited communications on historic research, the National Register nomination, and other items of mutual concern." [28] This turn of events created a chasm between the Service and Warren that would not be easily overcome. Con obviously felt that he had been betrayed by the NPS, and unfortunately Vaughan happened to be the most accessible representative of the agency.

These differences were fueled even higher in the year to come. On November 10, 1978, the president signed into law the National Parks and Recreation Act, which gave new promise to the Grant-Kohrs proposal. This act provided authority for the Service to acquire in fee title lands over which it had existing easements or other less-than-fee interests at the ranch by increasing the ceiling to $752,000.00. [29] Following Warren's offer to sell on a 90-day option, effective December 15, the Rocky Mountain Regional Office immediately forwarded a request to the Washington Office to make the purchase. They were assured that the funds would be available through reprogramming on or about June 1, 1979. Based on this new information, Regional Director Glen Bean notified Con Warren that a member of the regional lands office would be contacting him in the near future to re-open negotiations. [30] In all fairness to Warren, Bean might have cautioned the rancher that "authority" for funding did not necessarily mean that a congressional appropriation would be forthcoming right away. Nevertheless, with his hope renewed, Con proceeded to sell half of his cow herd and all of his yearlings and bulls in anticipation of the land sale. It was to prove a costly mistake to both the rancher and the NPS.

The meetings with Warren late that winter resulted in a line item request to Congress for $500,000.00 to complete the land acquisition in Fiscal Year 198 l. To everyone's surprise, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) scuttled this move until the NPS "made a thorough evaluation of alternatives to fee acquisition." With congressional hearings on land acquisition coming up that fall, Acting Director Daniel J. Tobin, Jr. advised the regional director to develop "a more comprehensive and restrictive scenic easement to achieve the protection you desire." [31] The region assured Superintendent Vaughan, in any event, that they would continue to support his land acquisition efforts in every way possible.

In January 1980, Tobin resurrected the idea of using P. L. 95-42, the amended Land and Water Conservation Act, as authority to exceed the land acquisition ceiling, at the same time suggesting that the regional office prepare revised cost estimates. One of the most valuable results of this was the preparation of a formal land acquisition plan for the park. This re-examination of the park's requirements produced several recommendations. One of these called for the removal of Tract 109, the 25.66 acres of city park lands, from the southeast corner of the boundary, since this parcel was determined to have no integrity and no potential for administrative uses. Although the land around the city sewage lagoon fell into the same category, the facility could not be easily relocated. The planners felt that there was no danger of development or other undesirable use of the property on three sides of the lagoon, but that fee interest should be purchased in Tract 117 extending south from the lagoon, because the vague language of the current easement, "for livestock ranching purposes . . . could lead to very different interpretations and to litigation . . . " [32] The plan also recommended the acquisition of Tract 115, including the modern ranch buildings, which could be used for administrative purposes, thus allowing the park to consolidate its operations. While the purchase of the Warren residence for future staff housing also was proposed, Con was assured of having lifetime use of the premises.

At the same time the Park Service was working on its plan, Con Warren took matters into his own hands by attempting to force a political solution to the problem. Congressman Stewart McKinney, acting on a request for specifics from Con's brother, Robert O. Y. Warren, wrote to the Secretary of the Interior inquiring why no action had been taken to implement the acquisition authorized by the 1978 bill. Robert Herbst, assistant secretary for Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, responded that regardless of the authority to increase the land acquisition ceiling, it had come too late in the budget cycle to include funds in fiscal year 1980. Moreover, the emphasis in the 1981 budget was on preventing threats to high priority lands. This effort, he explained, had already been crippled by a two-third's reduction in appropriated funds for this purpose. [33] The effort stalled once again.

Con Warren's frustrations with the Park Service and the agonizingly slow bureaucratic machinery reached the boiling point in June 1980. (There can be little doubt that the loss of his wife the previous November also influenced his mood.) He claimed that he had already lost $80,000 - $120,000.00, the result of selling off his cattle prematurely the year before. Once again, the process seemed to be going nowhere, and Warren thought that the recently completed land acquisition plan hinted that his property could be taken by condemnation. The situation exploded from an unexpected catalyst, and the shock was felt all the way to the nation's capitol.

Con's German Shepherd, like most ranch dogs, was protective of her territory, even when people she considered to be trespassers wore Park Service uniforms. She often confronted and sometimes nipped at staff members, who parked their vehicles alongside the lane south of the red barn. Vaughan had spoken previously with Warren about the dog, "Dru," and asked that she be confined. After yet another incident in which a ranger was attacked one evening, Vaughan decided to make a written complaint to document the situation. It so happened that this was contained in the same letter by which he provided Con a copy of the land acquisition plan. It was, at best, bad timing. [34]

In an unprecedented letter campaign, Con "wrote everybody but the president," Vaughan remembered years later. In a smoking diatribe to a shocked superintendent, Warren ordered park personnel to stay off his land, announcing that all negotiations for land were ended forthwith. Nor, would he be any further assistance to the park in any form. He had faced down the government before and, he announced, "if the Park Service resorts to condemnation proceedings with which you threaten me in your letter they will meet with the utmost resistance." "If I had known how this would end," he concluded, "I never would have started it and you and everyone connected with it would not have a job in the Deer Lodge Valley." [35]

Of course, Vaughan had not threatened Con with condemnation. The fact that this contingency was referenced in the acquisition plan was standard policy extending from the federal government's right of eminent domain. In the case of Grant-Kohrs, the Park Service reserved the right to condemn "should incompatible uses develop or be proposed . . ." on the easement lands. Warren had reviewed the drafts of the general management plan and was well aware of NPS management concerns and directions for the future. [36]

The incident relating to the dog was merely symptomatic of Warren's discontent over myriad irritations, not the least of which was his own botched cattle deal. Vaughan explained to the Rocky Mountain regional director that Warren had sold his stock on speculation, not on signed documents. He added that some incidents with "Dru" in fact had occurred west of the tracks, inside park fee lands, as well as in the access lane. There was no question as to whether or not the park staff had a legitimate right to use the lane. This was granted by the original agreement with the National Park Foundation, but it was a moot point. [37] What did matter was that Warren had taken the NPS at its word and, as one staff member put it, Con Warren was "a rancher in the grand manner; a man's word is as good as a written contract." [38]

Superintendent Vaughan had already accepted a transfer to Harpers Ferry Center in West Virginia at the time the break with Warren occurred. It was not a happy note on which to end his tenure at Grant-Kohrs Ranch, yet Vaughan was able to find satisfaction in his accomplishments toward restoring the historic buildings and improving the care of the museum collections. He later reflected that "it was time for a new set of ideas and outlooks to come in. Maybe somebody else could go in other directions that would be more productive." Upon his departure, he left a gracious letter to Con with the hope that things would improve. [39]

Con's tiff with the Park Service served a useful purpose nonetheless. Perhaps it had been designed that way. High-level attention again focused on the little historic site in Montana. Senators John Melcher and Max Baucus rallied to Warren's aid by writing to Interior Secretary Cecil D. Andrus urging him to take action in the matter. Noting that the NPS had already responded to Warren, Andrus reiterated that even though the Park and Recreation Act of 1978 had increased the monetary ceiling for land acquisition at Grant Kohrs Ranch, a legal review of the proposal had led the Department to request that the Service seek new legislation to override the original intent of Congress. Also at issue was the lack of funding, which the NPS thought would be a simple matter of reprogramming, until OMB derailed the proposal. [40] In his letter to Con Warren, Melcher placed the blame squarely on the Park Service. "There's no question they bungled this whole affair," he told Con. "They didn't have either the purchase authority or the money when they talked to you in 1978 . . . they really did fail to keep a commitment, but more through ineptness than willfulness." (The senator either was not aware of, or chose to ignore, P. L. 95-625, which unquestionably authorized the appropriation of funds for fee acquisition of lands at Grant-Kohrs Ranch NHS.) He minimized the effort it would take to get an increased monetary ceiling, something he would heartily support incidentally, provided there was still a chance Warren would sell to the Park Service. [41]

In the end, legislation passed deleting the old figure for land purchases and substituting a new amount of $1,100,000.00 based on increased real estate values. Public Law 96-607 likewise raised the development ceiling from $2,075,000.00 to $7,818,000.00, in addition to authorizing the boundary change recommended in the General Management Plan. The new boundary excluded the 25.66-acre parcel of city land at the southeast corner of the Site, where the park entrance from Milwaukee Avenue had been proposed. The bill became law on December 28, 1980. [42]

It would be several more years before the Service could obtain clear title to a small parcel of city-owned land lying inside the park boundary, south of Cottonwood Creek, where it had been proposed in 1973 to construct an access off Rainbow Street. The City of Deer Lodge contested the NPS claim to this 6.074-acre tract, but it was eventually settled in the government's favor in 1987. [43]

There was, however, an inherent disadvantage connected with P. L. 96-207. This law established the boundary as depicted on a specific NPS map, No. 451-80-013. The defined perimeter actually encompassed somewhat less land than the 2,000 acres originally authorized in the 1972 legislation. No one realized that until it was too late. The 1980 law, then, effectively nullified the previous ceiling by fixing the maximum allowable acreage to 1,498.38 acres, the area included within the revised park boundary. [44]