Wildlife
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2020 Annual Report 39
P E T E R S O N W M A A D D I T I O N M A K E S
F A M I L Y ' S W I S H E S C O M E T R U E
A consortium of partners, including the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, National Wild
Turkey Federation, Wild Sheep Foundation, and Bass Pro Shops worked with Nebraska Game
and Parks Commission to make the wishes of a Sioux County landowner come true. The
McDowell family wanted its 1,520-acre ranch, which sits adjacent to the Peterson Wildlife
Management Area, to belong to Game and Parks so it can be enjoyed by the public and used for
hunting and recreation for generations to come.
This property is an excellent example of the Pine Ridge, with pine savannahs, timber,
grasslands, a cool water seep, and rock outcroppings. It is home to turkeys, mule deer, elk
and bighorn sheep. The purchase of this ranch hit many important parts of the Agency
Acquisition plan. It is part of high-priority landscape (Pine Ridge), provides unique recreational
opportunities (back-country hunting), and holds critical lambing habitat for the Fort Robinson
bighorn sheep herd. The land was purchased with Nebraska Environmental Trust dollars,
donations from the partners, and Pittman-Robertson federal funds.
Peterson Wildlife Management Area received a gift of adjacent land.
