Set in the Custer County of Southeast Montana, this area is steeped in Western History. Cattle drives from Texas passed by on their way to Miles City to be loaded on the Northern Pacific Railroad and shipped to the population centers back east. The Ball Ranch and this area retain that Western flair and tradition. Cattle ranching is not only a business, in this area, it’s a way of life.
Resources:
Property Details
Total Acres. . . . . . . . . . 22,340 +
Deeded Acres . . . . . . . 19,619 +
State Lease Acre . . . . . . 1280 +
BLM Acres. . . . . . . . . . . 1441 +
The Ball Ranch covers a distance of eleven miles from north to south, and is three to five miles wide. Five drainages along the many miles of Tongue River frontage collect water during spring runoff and periods of heavy rain and flow to the river. The river is lined with mature cottonwood trees, shrubs and irrigated fields making for ideal wildlife habitat. The river bottom, at an elevation of 2750 feet, gives way to miles of open prairie that rise to hills and ridges dotted with pine trees; the highest elevation on the ranch is 3200 feet. Trembling Butte, a local landmark is located near the center of the ranch.
Water Resources
The ranch has over eight miles of frontage on the Tongue River and a search of the Montana Water Query Systems shows the ranch having 62 filed water rights for irrigation, stock water and domestic use. The ranch also owns 2200 shares of Tongue River Water Users Shares, which is stored water and released from the Tongue River Dam at the time of use. The Ball Ranch has historically had more than sufficient water for its present irrigation needs and enough water rights and water shares to add more irrigation. The current owner has drilled several new wells and installed approximately 33 miles of pipelines with numerous tanks to the various pastures around the ranch so cattle are normally less than one mile from a water source. The abundance of irrigation and stock water could dramatically increase in value over time; this is an extremely well watered ranch.
The Ball Ranch is literally a wildlife Mecca. While touring the ranch at the right time of day, you may see hundreds of whitetail deer, mule deer and the opportunity to see an occasional elk. Like most Eastern Montana ranches, the Ball Ranch supports healthy populations of antelope, pheasants, upland birds, turkeys and an abundance of waterfowl during the fall months. Of course the ranch has many other species of birds and non game wildlife as well.
