Through our efforts of learning and understanding, Babbitt Ranches, a family business and pioneering land company,
raises livestock, manages natural resources, promotes science and participates in the broader community
in order to join, share and do the very best we know how.
About Babbitt Ranches
Character, Nature, & Community
Character, Nature and Community have been bred into Babbitt Ranches since 1886. The values that make the people of Babbitt Ranches who they are and the characteristics which have shaped the organization into a lasting legacy are captured and articulated in The Constitution of Babbitt Ranches. It is the official document adopting the principles by which the organization was established and shall operate. The character qualities making up our core values are defined as Cowboy Essence, which is the self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming. This has guided the lives of Babbitt Ranches owners and employees for more than a century. We are a community within a community integrated with broadly diverse LifeScapes of individuals with varying thoughts, interest, skills and history. Our Multiple-Bottom-Line decision-making model supports Organizational, Economic, Ecological and Community values when discussing management direction and decisions. The Babbitt Ranches raises calves with approximately 5,000 head of grass-fed, open range, hereford cattle grazing on 700,000 acres of private, federal and state land which include the CO Bar, Espee, and Cataract ranches.
Our Sustainability Sciences Program, Generations, is a framework by which wide and varied science is promoted, supported and acknowledged by Babbitt Ranches across the Coconino Plateau Region and Little Colorado River Valley. This Conservation Philosophy encapsulates a relationship with the land that has developed out of more than 135 years of working on, and with, the natural world. We are committed to developing fundamental programs and direction for Tomorrow’s Agriculture and Land Use to explore land stewardship, business diversity, industry employment and infrastructure. Our Outdoor Recreation Ethic Attitude encourages a broad sense of self-imposed awareness and responsibility through education and outreach for land use and activities within our community.
Our Outdoor Recreation Ethic Attitude is essentially a community-based recreation management strategy that has evolved with input from the community. It is a response to the increasing recreational demands and impacts of growing Western populations, at a time when budgets and management resources are greatly diminished. Western outdoor recreation is unique for several reasons, but it is the vast open spaces and highly heterogeneous land ownership that complicate management efforts. Landowners and managers simply do not have the time, money or resources to effectively manage all the forms of outdoor recreation taking place across both private and public lands. Self-management by recreationists is the only feasible way to achieve sustainable outdoor recreation practices across these vast landscapes. Similar approaches have been tried for years, often termed “soft management,” encouraging people to act responsibly in the outdoors without the use of regulations and enforcement. The Outdoor Recreation Ethic Attitude offers a new approach for managing outdoor recreation. The broad establishment of such an attitude has the potential to greatly benefit both public land managers and private landowners throughout the West.
Cowboy Essence
The cowboy culture has long been admired for many wonderful characteristics, for example; hard work, integrity, respect, optimism, self-reliance, family values, trust, confidence, honesty, loyalty, having a relationship with the seasons of the year, perseverance through hard times as well as gratitude during good times. We are fortunate to have the cowboy heritage to remind us of Cowboy Essence and no matter who we are or where we are in our lives, we all have the opportunity to pursue Cowboy Essence.
We see examples of cowboy essence in all aspects of our communities, cultures and society whether in a schoolteacher, farmer, physician, family member at home, firefighter, law enforcement officer, businessperson, civil service worker, scientist, artist, outdoor recreationist, student or rancher.
The character qualities that make up Cowboy Essence are defined in The Constitution of Babbitt Ranches and are reflected in the Babbitt Ranches core values. Since 1639, they have guided the lives and generations of the Babbitt Ranches Community. Cowboy Essence is the character and desire, developing a positive self-awareness of who we are and that we are always striving to be at our best.
The definition of Article III Cowboy Essence in The Constitution of Babbitt Ranches was inspired by the leadership
philosophy of Hall of Fame Coach John Wooden.
Code of the West
The Babbitt Ranches philosophy is to honor relationships through our behavior, acknowledging that we are separate, yet connected, and as such will keep our communities informed and remain aware of others’ goals and objectives as we work together and independently to be effective land stewards today while setting the standard for future generations.
Understanding that our actions have an impact on our communities, Babbitt Ranches has operated under a long-standing tradition of respect, holding our relationships with our communities in the highest regard. As stated in Article IX of The Constitution of Babbitt Ranches, Community is listed among our Priceless Values. We understand we are part of a large and diverse community of landowners, communities and organizations who have a responsibility and obligation to the broad regional perspective. It is in this context of community that relationships are formed and quality regional planning can begin.
