Whispering Creek Ranch | Fay Ranches

W H ISP E R I NG C R EEK R ANC H Big Timber, Montana $1,750,000 | 39± Acres

Whispering Creek Ranch | Big Timber, Montana

INTRODUCTION Set beneath the Beartooth Mountains and the Absaroka Range just a few miles east of Gallatin National Forest and in the West Bridger Creek drainage, this exquisite mountain sanctuary features a custom 4,696± SF home and guest quarters on 39± deeded acres. About 750 feet of both sides of West Bridger Creek cascades by the home, located just 25± miles from Big Timber, Montana. The easily manageable acreage includes a diverse array of mature timber and mountain meadows and a beautiful pond outside the home’s large picture windows, providing habitat and water for big game, birds, small mammals, and other wildlife.

www.fayranches.com | (800) 238.8616 | info@fayranches.com

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ACREAGE Comprised of 39± deeded acres easily accessed by W Bridger Creek Road, the terrain is made up of sweeping foothills, mountain ridges, creek bottoms, and mountain valleys. The elevation ranges from 4,520 feet near the home to 4,840 feet. West Bridger Creek winds through the property, flowing east to the next major drainage, Bridger Creek, and into the Yellowstone River, just 15 miles away. Travel less than a mile west from the property on W Bridger Creek Road, and you will run into thousands of acres of Gallatin National Forest, prime for a plethora of recreational activities.

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Whispering Creek Ranch | Big Timber, Montana

www.fayranches.com | (800) 238.8616 | info@fayranches.com

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Whispering Creek Ranch | Big Timber, Montana

www.fayranches.com | (800) 238.8616 | info@fayranches.com

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IMPROVEMENTS A 39± acre mountain escape, the property is entered via a stunning and remarkable Chief Joseph iron rock bridge. Walk out your front door to take in views of rocky cliffs, mature trees, and mountain meadows. Enjoy the sights and sounds of West Bridger Creek, as well as a private pond and beautiful fountain display located just off the spacious wraparound redwood deck.

Overlooking a babbling creek, the main home is designed to blend into its surrounding foliage and landscape, providing minimal presence but arresting views of wildlife, mountains, and creek bottom.

Built-in 2004, this spacious home boasts large custom windows and vaulted ceilings, allowing for a great entertaining space. With four bedrooms and four bathrooms on three levels, the home was engineered around the massive floor-to-ceiling Chief Joseph iron stone fireplace in the living room.

The interior of the home is dominated by natural knotty pine tongue and groove. Key design finishes include a custom mantle, a claw foot soaking tub and jetted bathtub, a mix of Corian and granite countertops throughout the bathrooms and kitchen, high-end appliances, a second gas fireplace, and a sitting area off the bedroom and bathroom in the loft, and radiant heat throughout. The home is rounded out by a finished basement that includes a bonus room, bathroom, large bedroom, a recreation room with a pool table, and plenty of storage.

Feel safe thanks to an extensive indoor/outdoor security system with 16 cameras and web access. Other highlights of the home include a high-tech sprinkler system and three 1000 gallon self-sufficient propane tanks. A generator provides instant backup during a power outage.

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Whispering Creek Ranch | Big Timber, Montana

www.fayranches.com | (800) 238.8616 | info@fayranches.com

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Whispering Creek Ranch | Big Timber, Montana

www.fayranches.com | (800) 238.8616 | info@fayranches.com

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Whispering Creek Ranch | Big Timber, Montana

Above the 3-stall garage and its bathroom and storage area are the 960± SF mother-in-law quarters with a very large open loft, kitchenette, bathroom, gas stove, and living room. Located north of the detached garage is an open-air 4-stall shed, perfect for storing toys. This shed could also be used as a stable for horses or other livestock.

www.fayranches.com | (800) 238.8616 | info@fayranches.com

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Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness; source: exposenature.blogspot.com

COMMUNITY B ig T imber Whispering Creek Ranch sits a short 25± miles southeast of Big Timber. The quick trip from town means easy access to amenities, but also privacy, breathtaking views, and a sanctuary to call home.

Big Timber (population 1,700±) is a classic western town along the Yellowstone River. A century ago, Big Timber was a railroad center that became the world’s sheep ranching capital, shipping more wool than any other U.S. city at the time. Today, this town is dedicated to agriculture and the pursuit of trout.

Check out Grand Hotel Big Timber, an iconic restaurant restored to a Victorian bed and breakfast, as well as art galleries, shops, a Carnegie Library, a fly shop, a supermarket, and a hardware store. The Big Timber Rodeo and Sweet Grass Fest are annual events that feature family fun, music, vendors, and more.

The rugged Crazy Mountains dominate the northwest landscape, and the jagged AbsarokaBeartooth Wilderness (over 900,000 acres) presides to the south. The Boulder River joins the Yellowstone River within a stone’s throw of town, providing world-class trout fishing. Bridger Bowl Ski Area is about an hour to the west of Big Timber, and Red Lodge Mountain is a little over one and a half hours to the southeast.

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Whispering Creek Ranch | Big Timber, Montana

GETTING THERE Bozeman/Yellowstone International Airport is an easy hour and a half drive from the property. The airport is served by Alaska, Allegiant, American, Frontier, Jet Blue, Delta, Sun Country, and United Airlines, with direct flights to and from Boston, Denver, Detroit, Salt Lake City, New York City, Newark, Chicago, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Nashville, San Francisco, Seattle, Philadelphia, Portland, Phoenix, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Minneapolis and Las Vegas (www.bozemanairport.com). Because of the ease of transportation and proximity to such a diverse and spectacular mix of natural resources, Bozeman is the launching pad for many unique destinations.

Billings Logan International Airport is also an easy hour and a half drive northeast from the property and is serviced by Alaska, Allegiant, Cape Air, Delta, Frontier, and United Airlines. Billings Logan Airport is also home to Edwards Jet Center.

Big Timber Airport is a general aviation airport with private jet capability located three miles to the southwest of Big Timber. This airport includes two runways; 5,285 feet long and 3,475 feet long. www.fayranches.com | (800) 238.8616 | info@fayranches.com

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RECREATION F ly F ishing Bridger Creek and West Bridger Creek are some of those unknown and intimate fisheries with decent size trout and little notoriety. Running through larger private ranches mixed with some smaller parcels, there is little fishing pressure. There are a fortunate few who are aware of the fishery on both creeks, and even fewer have had the privilege of fishing it. The expectation is to catch mostly 8-to-12inch fish in a mountain stream, however as a tributary of the Yellowstone River, large fish move out of the Yellowstone and into these creeks. Combined with the spring influence throughout the length of the creeks, the fishery produces a multitude of good sized wild trout spread throughout its clear waters.

If a change of venue is appealing, there are some excellent choices in the neighborhood, such as the Yellowstone River just 15 miles away. The legendary Yellowstone River is the longest free-flowing river in the lower 48 states, flowing some 554± miles from its source in the mountains of Wyoming to its confluence with the Missouri River. There are more than 100± miles of Blue Ribbon trout water downstream from the Yellowstone Park border with excellent brown, rainbow, and cutthroat trout populations. The Yellowstone is considered large by trout river standards and is a great river to float or wade fish. The river is most noted for the “Mother’s Day” caddis hatch. When conditions are right, the river is a fisherman’s Valhalla. The Yellowstone fishes well for virtually 12 months of the year, with outstanding dry fly fishing throughout the summer.

Proximity to Yellowstone National Park, the birthplace of many of the finest trout rivers in the West, provides even more awesome fishing opportunities. Headwater streams such as the Gibbon, Firehole, and Lamar create rivers such as the Madison and Gallatin within its boundaries. The Park hosts a lifetime of fishing locales with over a hundred lakes and a thousand miles of streams. Nowhere in the world are so many public rivers and streams found within such a small area.

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Whispering Creek Ranch | Big Timber, Montana

W ildlife Wildlife is abundant on Whispering Creek Ranch, thanks largely to reclaimed habitat and management for big game. An array of creatures ranging from elk, deer, moose, bear, mountain lion, fox, and coyote to upland birds and raptors make use of the diverse terrain and nearby National Forest. Enjoy bird and wildlife watching while sitting quietly on the porch.

Elk; not taken on property

Mule deer; source: burkeranchoutfitters.com

H unting Due to the reclamation of habitat, big game hunting in the area is exceptional. Neighboring landowners have also been implementing wildlife and habitat management, contributing to the array of animals found. There is access to thousands of acres of National Forest just up the road. Elk in the 350+ class and white-tailed deer in the 160+ class have been harvested in the area. The mule deer are returning, and there are big bucks to be found. Whispering Creek Ranch offers quality feeding and bedding habitat for elk and deer. In addition to the ungulates, there are Hungarian partridge, sharptailed grouse, and turkey.

O ther R ecreation The nearby Custer Gallatin National Forest/Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness boasts more trails to discover than could be explored in a lifetime. The wilderness designation means no motorized vehicles, making it ideal for horses and hiking. The Beartooths include the highest peaks in Montana, as well as 25 peaks that exceed 12,000 feet. They are considered the most biologically unique mountain range in North America, with over 400 species of plants. The Wilderness has over 300 mountain lakes—many rich in trout—and abundant wildlife traverse the area. www.fayranches.com | (800) 238.8616 | info@fayranches.com

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WATER RIGHTS In all their varied forms and locations, Montana waters belong to the State for the benefit of its people.

A water right is the right to use the water within state-established guidelines and not any ownership of the water itself. Since water rights in Montana are guided by the prior appropriation doctrine, a person’s right to use a specific quantity of water depends on when the use of water began, establishing the relative priority date of use on the water source. The first person to use water from a source established the first right, and the second person could establish a right to the water that was left, and so on. Additionally, water users are limited to the amount of water that can be beneficially used. Beneficial use includes, but is not limited to, agricultural, recreational, fish and wildlife, and domestic purposes.

Montana is currently conducting a statewide adjudication of all water rights with priority dates prior to July 1, 1973. The statewide adjudication is a court process that prioritizes and quantifies all existing water rights in each Montana drainage basin. With eighty-five basins in Montana and over 219,000 water right claims, the statewide adjudication is a massive undertaking that is expected to stretch well into the future. Until the adjudication process is complete, the status of any particular water right claim cannot be guaranteed. Fay Ranches, Inc., its brokers, and salespersons do not warrant or make any representation concerning the quantity or quality of any water rights, nor any legal entitlement to use of water rights, permits to appropriate water, existing exempt rights, determination of existing water rights, nor any ditches, ditch rights, or ditch easements appurtenant to or constituting a burden on the property. Water rights claims appurtenant to the property may or may not have been fully or finally adjudicated, and any Buyer is advised to make an offer to purchase contingent upon and subject to such independent inspections, evaluations, and advice concerning the water rights and adjudication process as a Buyer might deem prudent. All Buyers should be aware that Fay Ranches, Inc., its brokers, and salespersons involved in this offering have not conducted an expert inspection or analysis of the water rights for this property.

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Whispering Creek Ranch | Big Timber, Montana

www.fayranches.com | (800) 238.8616 | info@fayranches.com

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MINERAL RIGHTS All mineral rights appurtenant to the property and owned by the Seller will convey to the Buyer at closing.

QUICK FACTS • • • • • • • • 18

Year-round access 750± feet of private access on West Bridger Creek Stunning 4,696± SF, four bed, four bath main home Large mother-in-law suite above a 3-stall garage with kitchenette, bathroom, gas fireplace, and large entertaining area Excellent big game hunting for trophy elk and white-tailed deer, as well as camping, hiking, biking, fishing, etc. in the National Forest just a few short miles away 25± miles from Big Timber and its private airport About an hour and a half to Bozeman and Billings and their commercial airports 15± miles from access to Yellowstone River Whispering Creek Ranch | Big Timber, Montana

www.fayranches.com | (800) 238.8616 | info@fayranches.com

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Whispering Creek Ranch | Big Timber, Montana

www.fayranches.com | (800) 238.8616 | info@fayranches.com

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Whispering Creek Ranch | Big Timber, Montana

SUMMARY Catch glimpses of rocky ridge views, mountain meadows, healthy verdant creek bottom, and dramatic canyons as you drive to Whispering Creek Ranch. The property boasts 39± deeded acres set below the Absaroka and Crazy Mountain Ranges with small trout fishing during certain times of the year along 750± private feet of the small West Bridger Creek. Centrally located in Montana, Whispering Creek Ranch sits 25± miles south of Big Timber and its private airport and within an hour and a half of Bozeman and its commercial airport. Exceptional creek frontage, a private pond, and natural beauty complemented by well-appointed improvements make Whispering Creek Ranch a quiet respite from all that is going on in the world today.

www.fayranches.com | (800) 238.8616 | info@fayranches.com

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PRICE $1,750,000

TERMS Cash, Conventional Financing, 1031 Tax Exchange

CONTACT Please contact Branif Scott at 406-579-9599 | bscott@fayranches.com to schedule a showing. This is an exclusive listing. An agent from Fay Ranches must be present at all showings, unless otherwise noted or other arrangements are made. To view other properties, fly fishing properties, and sporting ranches that we have listed, please visit our web page at www.fayranches.com.

NOTICE Offer is subject to errors, omissions, prior sale, change or withdrawal without notice, and approval of purchase by owner. Information regarding land classification, carrying capacities, maps, etc., is intended only as a general guideline and has been provided by the owners and other sources deemed reliable, but the accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Prospective purchasers are encouraged to research the information to their own satisfaction.

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RELATIONSHIPS IN REAL ESTATE As required by Montana law, a broker or salesperson shall disclose the existence and nature of relevant agency or other relationships to the parties to a real estate transaction. The various relationships and description of duties are as follows: 1. SELLER AGENT A “Seller Agent” is obligated to the Seller to:

Act solely in the best interests of the seller; Obey promptly and efficiently all lawful instructions of the seller; Disclose all relevant

and material information that concerns the real estate transaction and that is known to the seller agent and not known or discoverable by the seller unless the information is subject to confidentiality arising from a prior or existing agency relationship on the part of the seller agent; Safeguard the seller’s confidences; Exercise reasonable care, skill, and diligence in pursuing the seller’s objectives and in complying with the terms established in the listing agreement; Fully account to the seller for any funds or property of the seller that comes into the seller agent’s possession; and Comply with all applicable federal and state laws, rules, and regulations.

Montana law permits a real estate agent, after providing written disclosure to a seller and obtaining a seller’s written consent, to represent multiple sellers of property and to list properties for sale that may compete with the seller’s property, without breaching any obligation to the seller.

A “Seller Agent” is obligated to the Buyer to:

Disclose to a buyer or the buyer agent any adverse material facts that concern the property and that are known to the seller agent, except

that the seller agent is not required to inspect the property or verify any statements made by the seller; Disclose to a buyer or the buyer agent when the seller agent has no personal knowledge of the veracity of information regarding adverse material facts that concern the property; Act in good faith with a buyer and a buyer agent; and Comply with all applicable federal and state laws, rules, and regulations.

2. BUYER AGENT (cont) A “Buyer Agent” is obligated to the Seller to:

Disclose any adverse material facts that are known to the buyer agent and that concern the ability of the buyer to perform on any

purchase offer; Disclose to the seller or the seller agent when the buyer agent has no personal knowledge of the veracity of information regarding adverse material facts that concern the property; Act in good faith with a seller and a seller agent; and Comply with all applicable federal and state laws, rules and regulations.

3. DUAL AGENCY

If a seller agent is also representing a buyer, or a buyer agent is also representing a seller with regard to a property, then a

dual agency relationship may be established. In a dual agency relationship, the dual agent is equally obligated to both the seller and the buyer.

These obligations may prohibit the dual agent from advocating exclusively on behalf of the seller or buyer and may limit the depth and degree of representation that you receive. A broker or a salesperson may not act as a dual agent without the signed, written consent of both the seller and the buyer.

A “Dual Agent” is obligated to a Seller in the same manner as a seller agent and is obligated to a Buyer in the same manner as a buyer agent, except

a dual agent:

Has a duty to disclose to a buyer or seller any adverse material facts that are known to the dual agent regardless of any confidentiality

considerations; and May not disclose the following information without the written consent of the person to whom the

information

is

confidential; The fact that the buyer is willing to pay more than the offered purchase price; The fact that the seller is willing to accept less than the purchase price that the seller is asking for the property; Factors motivating either party to buy or sell; and Any information that a party indicates in writing to the dual agent is to be kept confidential.

4. STATUTORY BROKER A “Statutory Broker” is not the agent of the Buyer or Seller but nevertheless is obligated to them to:

Disclose to: i. a buyer or buyer agent any adverse material facts that concern the property and that are known to the statutory broker,

except that the statutory broker is not required to inspect the property or verify any statements made by the seller; and ii. a seller or a seller agent any adverse material facts that are known to the statutory broker and that concern the ability of the buyer to perform on any purchase offer; Exercise reasonable care, skill, and diligence in putting together a real estate transaction, and Comply with all applicable federal and state laws, rules and regulations.

5. IN-HOUSE SELLER AGENT DESIGNATE

Created when the agency holds both the listing on a property from the seller and a buyer broker

agreement with the buyer, an in-house seller agent designate is a broker or salesperson employed by or associated as an independent contractor with a broker and designated by the broker as the exclusive agent for a seller for a designated transaction and who may not be considered to be acting for other than the seller with respect to the designated transaction.

6. IN-HOUSE BUYER AGENT DESIGNATE

Created when the agency holds both the listing on a property from the seller and a buyer broker

agreement with the buyer, an in-house buyer agent designate is a broker or salesperson employed by or associated as an independent contractor with a broker and designated by the broker as the exclusive agent for a buyer for a designated transaction and who may not be considered to be acting for other than the buyer with respect to the designated transaction.

BUYER AGENT A “Buyer Agent” is obligated to the Buyer to: Act solely in the best interests of the buyer; Obey promptly and efficiently all lawful instructions of the buyer; Disclose all relevant and material information that concerns the real estate transaction and that is known to the buyer agent and not known or discoverable by the buyer, unless the information is subject to confidentiality arising from a prior or existing agency relationship on the part of the buyer agent; Safeguard the buyer’s confidences; Exercise reasonable care, skill, and diligence in pursuing the buyer’s objectives and in complying with the terms established in the listing agreement; Fully account to the buyer for any funds or property of the buyer that comes into the buyer agent’s possession; and Comply with all applicable federal and state laws, rules and regulations.

Montana law permits a real estate agent, after providing written disclosure to a buyer and obtaining a buyer’s written consent, to represent multiple buyers interested in buying the same property or similar properties to properties in which a buyer is interested and to show properties in which a buyer is interested to other prospective buyers, without breaching any obligation to the buyer.

BRANIF SCOTT broker associate

Licensed in: MT, WY c. 406-579-9599 bscott@fayranches.com

FAY RANCHES INC. (800) 238.8616 info@fayranches.com www.fayranches.com