One of the goals we set for managing Spirit View Ranching, is that it's done in harmony with our environment and with nature. That means the grazing and land use practices are built around long term sustainability. When it's our turn to pass the ranch over to the next generation, it will be in better shape than when we started managing it; after all we are just borrowing the land from the future generation.

Erika and I have been fortunate to travel and visit many places around the world. We are both lovers of nature and for ourselves it's a religious conviction. Many times the things we have seen have been disturbing; soil erosion, deforestation, polluted waterways and species extinction resulting from habitat destruction and poaching. On our honeymoon we backpacked across Southern Africa for 4 months. During that time we had a chance to visit a chimpanzee rehab centre in Northern Zambia along the Congo border. The visit with Sheila Siddle, who runs the Chimfunshi, left a mark on us that we will never forget. Almost all the chimps at Chimfunshi were orphans of the bush meat trade of Africa. The adults got hunted and the young were illegally smuggled into the pet trade. The lucky ones that lived and were rescued came to Chimfunshi. What we saw was disturbing. An animal with 98.5% of the same genes as humans being wiped out, through habitat destruction and poaching. On top of this the orphanage which was located within 25,000 acres of pristine African woodland habitat but had no African ungulate species left; all because of poaching.

Erika and I felt depressed seeing the destruction that humans can have on the world around them. Shelia told us, "it is depressing and it can get you down, however don't burn up your energy worrying about things here, work on things in your own backyard -

Think global, but act local and communicate those values to other people to make a difference".

We never forgot those words and use them as guidance for everything we do on our ranch. Our goal is now to have more people think that way and we like to think little by little people are listening.

On our ranch we use wildlife and species diversity as an indicator to guide our management. In fact some of the species like the Northern Great Owl and Pileated wood peckers have been signs that nature is happy with us. Over the past three years we have built over 25 dams and back flood areas with the good folks from Ducks Unlimited at our local Grande Prairie Office. All our upland habitat and "bush land" is fenced off from grazing and our rotational grazing system is helping to give the land a chance to nurture itself. In a nutshell we are "eco-committed".

Our time on the ranch has been short, however then so is life. Our hope is that we can encourage other land owners and ranchers to do the same - "let's make every, day Earth Day, a part of our daily lives we can pass on to the next generation".

If you are ever interested in learning more about our ranch or would like to drop by for a visit, please do not hesitate to contact us. We'll be glad to show you some of the furry and feathered friends than call Spirit View Ranch their home.