SPONSORED CONTENT As commodity prices go, few have been tracking mallard dividends as closely as Steve Farris. After a stellar career as a Grammy-nominated guitarist and one of the cofounders of the ’80s band “Mr. Mister,” Farris has turned his creative energies and life-long passion for duck and goose hunting into another art form — buying, transforming and selling some of the best duck hunting properties west of the Mississippi. The fact that Mr. Mister’s two Grammy nominations came for hits, Broken Wings and Healing Waters, might have foreshadowed his calling to the world of duck hunting real estate.
Former rock guitarist and Nebraska native Steve Farris has an uncanny ability to transform bottomland habitats into some of the nation’s best duck and goose hunting venues. DORSEY PICTURES
For those who follow the recreational real estate market and the extensive habitat improvements that Farris has made to some of them, he could be known as the Arnold Palmer of duck hunting courses. “Every blind is a different hole,” muses Farris. Like any great artist, he sees land the way a painter sees canvas — an opportunity to manifest a vision of something perfect. In his case, it’s land and water that is irresistible to ducks and geese and, ultimately, to those who love to hunt them. That’s a unique talent and skill set that Alex Maher recognized shortly after meeting Farris a few years ago. Maher is the founder of Live Water Properties, a Jackson, Wyoming-based ranch and recreational real estate brokerage firm specializing in some of the best hunting and angling properties across the country.
“No one knows more about how to identify prime waterfowl property than Farris,” says Maher. “And it’s not just his knowing where the ducks want to be, it’s his ability to transform average waterfowling ground into something exceptional that is very interesting.”
Thanks to help from Ducks Unlimited, owners of the Golden Eagle Ranch were able to create a series of flooded fields adjacent to the South Platte River that routinely hold thousands of migrating ducks and geese from October through January. COURTESY OF LIVE WATER PROPERTIES
Maher was excited to have Farris bring his perspective and expertise to the Live Water real estate biz particularly since he and another of his crew, broker Brian Hartley, had found a crowned jewel of western duck and goose hunting properties. The 2,100-acre Golden Eagle Ranch located near Iliff, Colorado, sits two hours east of Denver and encompasses roughly five miles of the famed South Platte River (both sides), a wildlife-rich braided ribbon of life that is found amid some of America’s best duck and goose hunting.
A plush lodge is a welcomed retreat after a day spent afield at Golden Eagle Ranch. The property sits just two hours east of Denver with nearby private air strips to accommodate jet-setting sportsmen. COURTESY OF LIVE WATER PROPERTIES
“Being a 16-year veteran of recreational property brokerage, my specialties have long centered around fly-fishing and mountain retreats,” says Hartley. “Steve has been a great addition to the Golden Eagle Ranch team. His hunting knowledge and vast experience across the flyways provides immediate credibility in showcasing the wildlife dynamics of this unparalleled sporting ranch.”
“The length of river control, abundance of water — with the rights to use it not only for agriculture, but more amazingly for winter habitat — and in such a prime location,” says Farris, “is what makes the availability of this property a generational opportunity. It’s extremely rare to see such a unique place hit the market.”
Colorado’s South Platte River is a renowned wildlife corridor for migrating waterfowl as well as an abundance of pheasants and some of the largest whitetail deer in North America. The cottonwood-lined river bottom is a ribbon of wildlife cover surrounded by adjacent crop fields that serve as an ideal bed and breakfast stop for ducks and geese. COURTESY OF LIVE WATER PROPERTIES
The existing property owners worked with experts from Ducks Unlimited to construct four expansive flooded fields adjacent to the river that are seen as bed and breakfast rest stops by migrating waterfowl. In addition to ducks and geese, however, hundreds of other migratory water birds rely on this and other habitat created by hunters across North America. If you think of Farris as a commodity broker of sorts, Ducks Unlimited would be the stock exchange, for no organization has done more to secure waterfowl futures from Canada to Mexico.
An abundance of whitetail deer routinely grow to record book dimensions on the Golden Eagle Ranch. The property is considered by many sportsmen to be one of the crowned jewels of western recreational destinations. COURTESY OF LIVE WATER PROPERTIES
The backbone of their support — indeed of waterfowl conservation in general — has long been waterfowlers. Duck hunters spend billions annually on duck stamps to support the National Wildlife Refuge System (benefitting hundreds of non-game species — including dozens that are endangered), on private lands management, on contributions to myriad conservation organizations and on excise taxes from the purchase of guns and ammunition that are, in turn, spent by states on conservation efforts.
In addition to unrivaled waterfowling, the Golden Eagle’s substantial stretch of South Platte bottomland is famous for producing some of the largest whitetails on the continent — often approaching record book dimensions with an abundance of the animals found throughout the property. The ranch also offers some of the West’s best turkey hunting. The birds don’t so much flock there as they swarm, with eye-popping congregations normally associated with lesser species such as blackbirds. Pheasants, snow geese, bobwhite quail and mule deer are some of the other huntable species found on this sportsman’s paradise.
The Golden Eagle is resplendent with incredible numbers of wild turkeys—just another example of the ranch’s diverse wildlife portfolio. COURTESY OF LIVE WATER PROPERTIES
Combine this with a plush lodge, private air strips in nearby Sterling, Colorado, or Sidney, Nebraska, secured water rights in perpetuity and this isn’t a diamond in the rough, but rather a polished gem just waiting to be enjoyed. As Will Rogers once said, “Don’t wait to buy real estate. Buy real estate and wait.”
And in the meantime, enjoy the investment…and don’t you wish you could do that with your stock portfolio?
Editor’s Note: This article originally appear in Forbes.
