Ace Black Ranches

Ace Black Ranches

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
Well, this has indeed, so far, been quite the summer in Idaho. For the last couple of weeks, we’ve been under, and it’s a term I’ve never heard before, “under a heat dome”. While Idaho ranchers are struggling this summer with heat and drought issues, Ace Black Ranches in Bruneau is not only dealing with the drought. But a few weeks ago five armed US Marshals and EPA agents with search warrants showed up to inspect their property on the Bruneau river.

“The Marshalls were good,” said Terry Black of Ace Black Ranch. “They were heavily armed but were good guys and thought this was a waste of time too. But the Environmentalists were sour.”

The pristine Bruneau River runs through the ranch, and the Ace Black is one of the oldest ranches in Idaho:

“This has been in the family since 1875, different branches of the family my grandpa bought it in 1967, and then my Dad started buying from him thereafter and we started buying from him shortly thereafter,” said Terry Black.

And after 14 decades of operations the ranch went to pivot irrigation, a more efficient use of scarce water on the arid land.

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