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About Sun Ranch Institute

History

Sun Ranch Institute draws on a rich, decade-long history of its namesake, the Sun Ranch. Beginning in 1998, when the Lang family acquired the property, the Sun Ranch has systematically improved its valuable habitat through managing livestock holistically, removing dangerous fences, fighting noxious weeds, and a variety of other measures. In the late 1990s, Sun Ranch placed over a third of its deeded acres in a conservation easement, preserved its most valuable water rights for in-stream flows, and began the westslope cutthroat trout initiative. The ranch further diversified its businesses in the 2000s, launching a hospitality enterprise, carbon sequestration projects, and other ventures. Throughout the decade, the Sun Ranch has reached out to the local community.

In 2006, Sun Ranch Institute was incorporated and planted on that fertile ground. Founder Roger Lang intended the Institute to improve on those practices and to expand Sun Ranch's lessons beyond the boundaries of the Madison Valley.

The Institute hired its first employees and began operating in early 2007. It launched community outreach programs, including a pilot travelers' philanthropy program. That year the science and conservation program initiated empirical research, citizen science projects, and monitoring initiatives. By the end of the year, the Institute had received tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service.

In early 2008, SRI launched its first land and community planning processes on the Schroeder Ranch in the Bitterroot Valley. Through the rest of the year, SRI expanded the breadth and depth of its projects and programs, launched its website, and moved toward financial sustainability.