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Media Contact: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Sun West Ranch Teams with Peruvian Sheep Herder on Sustainable Weed Management 1600 Sheep Fatten Up for the Winter While Eliminating Noxious Weeds Harmful to Wildlife Cameron, Mont., (October 28, 2008) — Sun West Ranch today finished its annual weed prevention program using green and sustainable practices For the past five years, each August, approximately 900 ewes and 900 lambs are brought onto the property to eat noxious weeds as part of a responsible stewardship program. Marcial Ramos, a sheepherder from Peru, working his second year in the Madison Valley, just north of Yellowstone National Park is responsible for moving all 1600 sheep along with his two loyal sheep herding dogs, and two guard dogs who work to protect the vulnerable sheep from wolves, coyotes and other prey. Marcial is employed by a local rancher who trades Sun West rangelands to fatten his sheep, and in return helps The Ranch with weed management. During colder months of the year, Marcial works cattle and repairs fences outside of Billings. ”Invasive plants such as leafy spurge and spotted knapweed kill off surrounding vegetation, trigger soil erosion and decrease available water to native grasses. The weeds not only make the land unfit for crops and cattle, they threaten native plant species and drive off wildlife. “Sheep are unique in that they readily consume plants that other animals avoid or find toxic. As a result, land managers are turning to sheep grazing as an environmentally sound and cost-effective way to control noxious weeds,” said Mark Thibeault, Sun West Ranch manager. “This is something Sun West has been doing for five years and it’s wonderful because it benefits the wildland and the wildlife. Weed prevention is one of many sustainable practices Sun West implements. Each home site was carefully planned to protect wildlife migration and 1,600 of the Ranch’s 2,000 acres is set aside as common land that will remain undeveloped. In addition, home sites are set back from the Madison River to protect fish, erosion and water quality. In Montana, the Bureau of Land Management found that proper sheep grazing resulted in up to 90% control of leafy spurge over four growing seasons, greatly reducing the need for costly herbicides. For more information on weed control in the Madison Valley go to: www.madisonvalleyranchlands.org/weedcontrol.html. Or call the Madison Valley Ranch Lands Group at 406-682-3259. About Sun West Ranch The shared-ranch concept was pioneered by Ted Gildred, the creator and developer of Sun West Ranch, in the early 1990s and has since taken off as a growing trend in real estate development as a way to preserve land and protect wildlife corridors. Sun West Ranch’s 55 home sites take up just 400 acres, with the remaining 1,600 acres designated as shared open space between all owners. Sun West’s most recent dedication to the community is shown in the creation of Project Giveback, an initiative to help raise funds to build a new hospital in Ennis. Sun West Ranch developers Ted and Heidi Gildred pledged $1.1 million to be matched by the community. For more information, visit www.sunwestranch.com.
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