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Dayton Hyde argues that livestock and wildlife can – and should– live side by side...
Rancher’s ‘private’ wildlife refuge doesn’t hurt business either...
Dayton Hyde may be doing more to save wildlife than any person in America.
His cattle ranch in Chiloquin, Oregon is better known for the nesting bald eagles and ospreys than for its beef production. Called “weird” by some of his fellow ranchers, Mr. Hyde bucks the system by raising coyotes and setting aside a quarter of his land for wildlife. Word began to get around about how his self-styled private refuge did wonders for wildlife without disrupting ranch operations.
“With a little bit of work it just became such an exciting wildlife place that I thought well, there must be a lot of people like me scattered around North America who have good, viable land, who would like to know how to do this,” he explains.
Hyde, called “Hawk” by friends, was so swamped with requests for information that he formed “Operation Stronghold” in 1979, a nonprofit corporation that helps private landowners establish wildlife habitat. In less than eight years, the little known Stronghold program can boast of over 4 million acres of participating private land.
“We found very quickly that when people got personally involved in creating wildlife habitat, something very nice happened to their lives. They got thoroughly bound up in what they were doing. Some went into making plantings for butterflies, others restored bits of native prairie.”
......”Much of Hyde’s conviction is born of experience. When he put 25 percent of his ranch into marshes, a new ecosystem began to emerge.
Returning blackbirds ate the grasshoppers, followed by predators (including coyotes) which came in and controlled the short-tailed ground squirrels and field mice. The new wetland areas moderate the temperature, eliminating winter frost damage.” –Donald L. Rheem, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor, April 23, 1987.
CONSERVATION AWARDS
1989 Honor Award from Whooping Crane Conservation Association
Oregon Governor’s Conservationist of the Year
Issac Walton League Golden Beaver Award
Environmentalist of the Year: From National Cattlemen’s Association Region 7
Conservation Award: International Wild Waterfowl Association, Inc.
1989 First Hero of the Earth, Eddie Bauer Inc.
1994 A.S.C.P.A. Founder’s Award
1997 Reader’s Digest The American Dream Today & Tomorrow, Heroes of the
Land, Born To Run Free
1999 Oregon State University, College of Agricultural Science Diamond Pioneer
Agricultural Achievement Award
2002 American Association of Equine Practitioners, “Lavin Cup Award”
Equine Welfare
2009 Black Hills, Badlands & Lakes Association “Special Achievement Award”
Operation Stronghold was Dayton Hyde’s passion through the 1980s. As a direct result of his
efforts, many thousands of acres on private lands were restored to wildlife habitat on the 4 million acres of ranch and farm lands that were part of the program. Though he moved on to his work creating and maintaining the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary, most of these improvements are still in place for wildlife.