The Ranches Behind the Wildlife: Historic TE Ranch to Host Community Tour
Working ranches along the Absaroka Front do more than raise cattle. They help maintain open landscapes and important wildlife habitat for elk, mule deer, and other species moving between the Absaroka Mountains and Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.
Members of the community are invited to sign up for a small group tour of the privately owned TE Ranch, founded by William F. Cody. Taking place Saturday, September 12, participants will learn about the ranch’s history, day-to-day ranch operations, conservation investments, and role in maintaining wildlife habitat along the Absaroka Front. Visitors will have an opportunity to see the ranch and ask questions about what it takes to maintain a working ranch.
“Wildlife across the West depend on private land,” said Western Landowners Alliance policy manager and Park County native Shaleas Harrison. “Along the Absaroka Front, for example, private lands provide vital winter range and hundreds of elk calve each year on ranches such as the TE.”
The tour offers a unique opportunity to see this relationship firsthand and to learn how managers are supporting wildlife and keeping these landscapes healthy.
Founded by the famous showman Buffalo Bill Cody in the late 1800s, the TE remains a working cattle ranch and an important part of the Cody community’s history and economy. Today, the ranch also provides habitat for big game moving between the Absaroka Mountains, Yellowstone National Park, and Grand Teton National Park.
“The TE is a special place, and we’re excited to share its history and the work that goes into caring for the ranch,” said Mary Anne Dingus, whose family owns the ranch.
The tour will be led by Dingus and TE Ranch Manager Erick Monfeldt and hosted by the Western Landowners Alliance, whose mission is to support policies and practices that sustain working lands, connected landscapes, and native species.
TE Ranch Community Tour
September 12 | 9:00 am – 2:00 pm
Community members interested in attending can register here or by emailing Shaleas Harrison at [email protected].
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