Perhaps one of the most unique ranches in the entire Elk River Valley, this wonderfully complex rugged land rises from the Elk River directly across from Fernie. It ascends up slopes and benches polka dotted with stands of dense timber and meadows to Crown Lands at the base of the steep upper portions of Mt Fernie and the Spires of the Three Sisters. The Ranch offered stunning views of the Fernie, the Rockies, and Fernie Mountain Ki Area. Ranches of the West planned this one of a kind ranch, the largest in town ranch parcel within the ALR (allowing subdivision—see Elk River Ranch) at only approximately 20 per cent of it’s allowed densities. 44 one plus acre sites, with fixed 5000 square foot building envelopes to insure privacy, complete visual screening from town and any other structure and eliminate sky lining, were chosen on foot and horseback, one by one. Each site was surrounded by more than 165 acres of Preserve, all tying to the River, and Crown lands and protecting all important elk migration routes. The preserve was approved by the Canadian Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation for Grant of Conservation Easement, the first of it’s kind in Canada, although he Ranch was sold in late 2007 prior to the grant.
Innovative solutions to complex environmental, topographical, and resource concerns were devised by ROW. As just some examples, roads were minimized, and constructed so as to be invisible to Town. Vacuum sewer systems, which do not need the typical gravity flow grade characteristics of standard systems were designed eliminating the destruction of huge swatches of trees. Special foam fire fighting apparatus were purchased for the Town of Fernie, again minimizing water system construction and attendant resource damage. The old ranch stead cabin was moved and completely redone to as sales center, and later, planned to be the ranch owners association administration office for the Preserve.