Harrison Ford bought an 800-acre ranch along Wyoming's Snake River in 1985 and began donating conservation easements the same year. Decades later, 389 acres of that Jackson Hole property remain permanently protected as wildlife habitat under agreements held by the Jackson Hole Land Trust.
According to SSBCrack News, actor Harrison Ford purchased an 800-acre property along the Snake River in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in 1985. The Land Report, in a 2007 article, placed the purchase roughly two decades before that story's publication without citing an exact year. The ranch sits beneath the Teton Range, and SSBCrack News reported that Ford, then married to screenwriter Melissa Mathison, wanted to spend less time around Hollywood.
From Working Ranch to Private Retreat
The property included a main residence, a guest house and a barn that Ford used as a personal workshop, The Land Report reported. The house was built with hand-hewn cabinetry, Douglas fir timber framing and stone fireplaces made from local river rock, with windows framing views of the Tetons, according to SSBCrack News.
Both outlets describe the land as habitat for migrating elk and mule deer, nesting bald eagles, and native cutthroat trout in the Snake River. The Land Report additionally reported blue herons on the property.
The Conservation Easements
Starting in 1985, Ford began donating a series of conservation easements covering much of the ranch, according to both The Land Report and Hello! magazine. A conservation easement is a legal agreement in which a landowner permanently gives up certain development rights — such as subdivision or large-scale construction — while keeping private ownership of the land, as Hello! explained in its reporting.
The recipient of the easements was the Jackson Hole Land Trust, a local nonprofit focused on preserving open space and wildlife habitat in the region. SSBCrack News reported that the arrangement was designed to permanently restrict residential and commercial development on the protected acreage.
Harrison Ford's Jackson Hole ranch, by the numbers
Detail
Figure
Total ranch size
800 acres
Acreage under conservation easement
389 acres
Year of purchase
1985
Year easement donations began
1985
Easement recipient
Jackson Hole Land Trust
Location
Jackson Hole, Wyoming, along the Snake River
Why the Jackson Hole Land Trust Calls It a Precedent
Laurie Andrews, executive director of the Jackson Hole Land Trust, told The Land Report that Ford's donations in the 1980s helped set an early example for conservation easements in the Jackson Hole area, at a time when the practice was still unfamiliar to most landowners.
Back in the 1980s, very few people knew anything about conservation easements.
— Stephen Small, attorney who helped draft U.S. conservation-easement tax rules, via Hello! magazine
Hello! magazine also reported that Laurie Andrews described Ford's decision as mutually beneficial for both the landowner and the land. The magazine further reported that Ford, who married actress Calista Flockhart in 2010, lives at the Jackson Hole ranch, while the couple also maintains a separate property in California.
What Is Not Confirmed
None of the sources reviewed specify the exact purchase price of the ranch or the precise boundaries of the 389 protected acres within the 800-acre property. These details were not addressed in the reports consulted for this article.
Questions
How big is Harrison Ford's Wyoming ranch?
The property totals 800 acres along the Snake River in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, of which 389 acres are permanently protected by conservation easements, according to The Land Report and SSBCrack News.
When did Harrison Ford buy the ranch?
SSBCrack News reports the purchase took place in 1985. The Land Report, writing in 2007, describes the purchase as occurring roughly two decades earlier without stating an exact year.
What is a conservation easement?
Per Hello! magazine's reporting, it is a legal agreement in which a landowner permanently surrenders certain development rights on land while retaining private ownership, usually to protect natural habitat.
Who holds the easements on Ford's property?
The Jackson Hole Land Trust, a local conservation nonprofit, is the recipient organization named by both The Land Report and SSBCrack News.
Does Harrison Ford still own the ranch?
Hello! magazine reports that Ford, who married actress Calista Flockhart in 2010, currently lives at the ranch, while the couple also maintains a property in California. None of the sources reviewed state that the ranch has been sold or transferred.
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