Acre – Area of land 43,560 square feet in size, originally one furlong long (660 ft.) by one chain (66 ft.) wide, or the area an ox could plow in one day.  A football field including end zones is approximately 1.3 acres.

Animal husbandry – practice of breeding and raising livestock

AUM – animal unit month, is the occupancy and use of public lands by one cow and her calf, one horse, or five sheep or goats for one month.

Buyer’s Agent - The Real Estate Broker acts as an agent for the buyer.  This type of agency requires a written agreement.  Please contact us for a copy of a Real Estate Brokerage Disclosure document so that you may become familiar with the varies types of agency that are available to you when buying or selling property. 

Buyer as Customer – The Broker does not represent the buyer, but is obligated to deal fairly and honestly to assist the Buyer.  The Broker may be an agent of the Seller.  This type of agency does not require a written agreement.  Please contact us for a copy of a Real Estate Brokerage Disclosure document so that you may become familiar with the various types of agency that are available to you when buying or selling property.

 Cattle guard – that grate in the middle of the road, consists of a depression covered by transverse grid of bars usually made of metal firmly fixed to the ground which prevents livestock from crossing due to the gaps between the bars, but does not impede wheeled traffic.  Usually installed at a fence line and prevents a gate from having to be installed.

Conservation Easement - a legally enforaceable but voluntary transfer of rights created between a landowner and a government agency or a qualified land protection organization, "land trust", for the purpose of conservation.  The easement can restrict real estate development, commercial and industrial uses, and certain other activities on a property to a mutually agreed upon level. The property remains the private property of the landowner.  The restrictions of the easement, once set in place, "run with the land" and are binding on all future owners of the property.

Cowboy – originated from Spain out of necessity to handle large herds of grazing animals on dry land from horseback.

CRP – Conservation Reserve Program – mostly known as a program to get government money for not growing crops.  Please see the Natural Resource Conservation Service website for more details.

Federal grazing fee – will be $1.35 per AUM for public lands administered by the BLM and $1.35 per HM or head month for lands managed by the Forest Service.  The fee for 2009 is the same as for 2008.

Guest or “dude” ranch – ranches that cater exclusively to tourists.

Grazing leases – Authorization from a government agency to allow a specified number of livestock to graze on designated portion of public land for a specific time period.

Intermediary – This is a non-agency relationship between the Broker and Buyer or the Broker and Seller.  This type of agency usually occurs when the Broker has a listing (Seller agency agreement) that a Buyer is interested in.  In this case, the Broker shall not act as an agent or advocate for either party.  A written agreement is required.  Please contact us for a copy of a Real Estate Brokerage Disclosure document so that you may become familiar with the various types of agency that are available to you when buying or selling property.

Landman – A person that searches through records to determine ownership of sub-surface or mineral rights.

Mineral rights – Rights to remove minerals, oil, natural gas, and sometimes water that are contained under the surface of the land, sometimes called sub-surface rights. 

Mineral lease – The owner of the mineral rights retains ownership but leases the right to drill or mine for the minerals.

Mineral rights search – A search to determine who owns the mineral or sub-surface rights.

Ranch – An area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool.  Ranches generally consist of large areas, but may be of any size. 

Rancher or stockgrower – People who own or operate a ranch.

Section – An area of land one mile square containing 640 acres.

Seller’s Agent – The Broker acts as an agent for the seller.  This type of agency requires a written agreement.  Please contact us for a copy of a Real Estate Brokerage Disclosure document so that you may become familiar with the various types of agency that are available to you when buying or selling property.

Snow fence – Those bleachers that you see set up along the highway.  Snow fence is a structure to force drifting snow to settle downwind of the snow fence, helping to prevent the snow from settling on or blowing across a roadway, or may be used to capture moisture from the snow to help with irrigation.

Split Estate – The surface rights and subsurface rights for a piece of land are owned by different parties.

Township – An area of land six sections by six sections, or 36 sections.

Water rights –Per the Wyoming Constitution, all natural waters within the boundaries of the state are declared to be property of the state.  The Wyoming State Engineer’s Office is responsible for the regulation and administration of the water resources in the state. Water rights can be issued to anyone who plans to make beneficial use of the water.  Wyoming water law operates under the prior appropriation doctrine, “first in time, first in right”, meaning that those having earlier priority are allowed to receive their full portion before those with later, or more junior priority.  Water rights holders are limited to withdrawals necessary for the purpose.  Irrigators, for example, are allowed to divert 1 cfs for each 70 acres under irrigation.  As you can see, water and water rights are a very important consideration when purchasing a ranch property.