Mountain Ranch at the End of the Road

Tom grew up in Colorado on a ranch of which he became the fourth generation operator. He attended Washington and Lee University and Colorado State University before graduating from Colorado College with a degree in Business Administration/Real Estate Appraisal. Tom did post-graduate master’s level work for one year at Denver University, followed by a five-year stint in the Air Force National Guard. After his time in the service, Tom’s entire adult life was spent owning and operating successful cattle ranches in Colorado, British Columbia, Oregon and Idaho. He was also the recipient of numerous awards. During the summer months of his high school and college years, Tom traveled extensively with an RCMP officer in Canada and Alaska. This is how Tom came to love Canada, and aspire to ranch there some day. His mentor spoke at Knife and Fork Dinner Clubs all over Canada, and often put Tom up front as well. Tom was on the Cattlemen’s Association board everywhere he lived: Colorado, British Columbia, Oregon and Idaho. On some of these he served as president. Tom was also a founder of The Owyhee Initiative, which brought together the heads from all groups with interest in public lands: congressmen, environmentalists, county commissioners, Indian tribal leaders, etc. It turned out to be a very successful organization. He also started The Owyhee Borderlands Trust, a group of ranchers who raised funds to buy ranches, for cattlemen to run cattle on, if they lost their BLM permits. The Trust is still operating today.