WHITEHORSE RANCH Roosters crow at sunrise, coyotes howl after sunset and the work in between barely disturbs the tranquility of Whitehorse Ranch.

Owner David Herman shows a guest around the 143-year-old ranch on horseback and then drives 130 miles north to Burns to retrieve horses from training.

Ranch hands Jose and Joel Silva spend the day pushing cattle into upland grazing.

Carpenter Neil Chaney works to restore the buildings, including the main ranch house.

Theres always work to be done. But a visitor can still enjoy the shade of a willow while listening to the flow of Whitehorse Creek and think time has stopped, barely moving since the ranch was founded on the site of an Army camp.

The ranch sprawls across some 350,000 acres 63,000 acres owned and the remainder federal grazing allotments. Maximum distances across the deeded and allotment land are 35 miles from north to south and 27 miles east to west.

This is Whitehorse Ranch in the northern Great Basin. Large. Remote. Historic.

For Herman, 51, owning the Whitehorse the past six years is the fulfillment of a lifelong ambition.

I call this the rawhide country, he said. People work hard, are focused, are excellent stewards of the land and as honest as the day is long.

Its not the same ranch of several decades ago when cowboys crowded the bunkhouse and thousands of head of cattle grazed the land. Far fewer cattle graze on the regions ranches now. Instead, Herman said, he focuses on sustainability through efficiency.

Current owner

Herman was raised in Portland and rode horses with his grandfather during the summers. He became a land-use attorney, a farm equipment dealer and owned a stable and horse-breeding business in Sisters.

He provided horses for camps, resorts and wilderness riding programs in Oregon and California.

Looking for winter grazing, Herman bought a couple of ranches near Fields not far from the Whitehorse Ranch. When the Whitehorse became available in 2006, he sold the others and bought it.

Herman had admired Whitehorse Ranch when first passing through the area in his 20s.

He likes the ranch for many reasons, including the productive soil.

The high desert weather is milder than surrounding areas and little snow falls in the winter, making it good for early calving.

Operations and size

The Whitehorse is a cattle and hay ranch. About 800 calves were sold in December to California feeders. Born in March 2011, they were weaned in September. Herman also sells grass and alfalfa hay and raises some barley.

Paying guests are welcome in the bunkhouse, guest cottages and primitive campgrounds. Attractions include wildlife, a hot springs and a subspecies of lahontan cutthroat trout, unique to the ranchs ecosystem. Creeks end on the ranch, not connecting to any other basins.

Purist fishermen come from the Midwest and East for catch and release of the trout in Whitehorse Creek, Herman said.

Cattle are kept from creek banks at critical times, he said, and the Whitehorse and surrounding ranches work with the federal Bureau of Land Management and Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the environment.

Herman said running an efficient operation with available resources is the key to the ranchs success.

Most of us on the high desert try to raise really good product with a minimum of inputs, he said. People think biggest is best, but people here do amazing things with very little.

But the Whitehorse is large enough that moving cattle often takes several days.

They may herd cows until sundown and repeat the process the next day.

Herman has a small crew and hires additional help as needed for herding, branding or harvesting hay. Neighbors and outside volunteers with horses, looking for adventure, also help.

Theres not many places you can ride for a week and never cover the same ground, Herman said.

You cant pack enough water in the summer, so you drink from creeks.

Remoteness

While not the largest, it may be the most remote Oregon ranch.

Whitehorse Ranch Road is maintained by Harney and Malheur counties and is 50 miles of gravel between State Highway 205 on the west and U.S. Highway 95 on the east. The ranch is in the middle.

The nearest neighbors are the Yturriondobeitia Ranch 12 miles to the east and the Defenbaugh Ranch a similar distance to the west.

The nearest towns are Fields and Denio, Nev., some 25 miles away. McDermitt, Nev., is 73 miles by the best roads to the southeast.

Burns, the Harney County seat, is 130 miles to the north.

When Herman goes to town, normally once a month, its to Caldwell, Idaho, 165 miles to the northeast. He makes a day of it, with a semitruck to haul and pick up equipment for repairs, groceries and supplies. He also takes care of any other errands, like dental appointments.

The U.S. Postal Service delivers mail to the ranch on Mondays and Fridays. The ranch got electricity in 1962. It has never had telephone service but once had a radio phone. Now cell phones, though sometimes intermittent, suffice.

Theres no television. Herman could get it with a satellite dish but doesnt want it. Wireless Internet access works for email and websites but chokes on video.

The ranch sometimes receives unexpected visitors.

Here comes this group of motorcycle guys, he said. We were right in the middle of a preferred route they found on a map for off-pavement trips from California to Canada.

The greatest danger posed by miles of gravel roads can be flat tires.

Keeping the speed under 45 mph helps prevent them.

Beside motorcyclists, fishermen and wildlife enthusiasts, the ranch has seen visits from hikers, history buffs, archeologists, seismologists, bicyclists, geologists and people protesting the BLMs gathering of wild horses.

The Whitehorse Ranch winter range is part of the BLMs wild horse management area that runs from the Alvord Desert to Highway 95.

The horses are prolific. Their survival rate is high, Herman said.

BLM engages in control measures including gathering for adoption and weve helped with it. Theyve used our fences.

Remoteness brings challenges. The ranch hands improvise to repair equipment. A steel fence post is fashioned into a tie rod to keep a truck running. Most planting and tillage equipment is modified.

Herman buys about 10,000 gallons of fuel 85 percent diesel and 15 percent gasoline each December to last a year.

Other challenges

Irrigation water is always a concern, and the BLM has gotten better to work with as it has recognized that there can be different ways of reaching goals.

What makes our corner of the world interesting is that most of us manage conservative, high-efficient systems, he said. The discipline of running these things at a very narrow revenue base makes managers very focused and efficient. You cant make very many mistakes and stay in the cattle business.

A constant challenge is educating the public that ranches are not raping the land and that grazing improves forage and range health.

Outside range magazines, the popular press has a negative view of cattle ranching and BLM range management, he said.

Herman hopes to keep ranching as long as he can.

The Whitehorse Ranch has been going 143 years. Ranching, he said, is the best use of the high desert.

I wouldnt be surprised, he said, if its not here for another 143 years.