The primary purpose of the Dutch Joe Ranch ("DJR" or "Ranch") is to create an income stream to financially sustain the Ranch into the generations to follow its current owner Richard E. Bunger. Mr. Bunger plans to set up a surviving "Trust" to continue the Ranch's concepts of Sustainability, Self-Sufficiency, and energy development. By using the Ranch's "Agricultural" endeavors as a platform to communicate with Ranch "Participants", particularly the children, the Ranch has the unique opportunity to teach the importance of family togetherness, including the assumption of personal responsibilities and the enhancement and elevation of personal values and work ethics, while at the same time exposing those Participants to "Practical" answers to environmental, forest and indigenous animal management issues. This is to be the "Legacy" of the Dutch Joe Ranch.
The Ranch is a unique "one-of-a-kind" property in a beautiful and environmentally sensitive historical area. The Ranch must be financially maintained and protected from unnecessary bureaucratic interference, and allowed to maintain its creative independence in its area of designing, testing and implementing the "practical" methods of Fish Harvesting, Sustainability, Self-Sufficiency, alternate energy development, forest restoration and animal habitat restoration; plus the research, development, growing and sale of Agricultural products, including, but not limited to, fish and beef - - and publish and make that experience and knowledge available to others.
The Ranch plans to maintain its "Old-West heritage" and appearance, and allow its Participants to experience and appreciate some of the history of the period of the early development of the Ranch, while at the same time minimizing any negative impact on the environment of the Ranch. With that in mind, automobiles and other modern high-environmental impact methods of transportation will be held to a minimum on the Ranch. Transportation by horses, buggies and wagons will be used wherever possible. Walking, hiking, bicycling, and other low-environmental impact, and alternative energy powered transportation methods will be encouraged. Noise, dust and excessive traffic will be controlled and minimized as much as reasonably possible.
Sustainability and Self-Sufficiency many times are in conflict with each other. In accomplishing Self-Sufficiency, Sustainability may be endangered. The Ranch will endeavor to design and demonstrate practical Self-Sufficiency systems and methods that are compatible with the long-term Sustainability of the Ranch's resources.
Some political entities, environmental movements and/or individual groups are attempting to politicize, radicalize, misdirect and profit from the Sustainability and the so-called "Green" movement. The Ranch will actively resist all pressures to move its objectives from "practical" Sustainability and Self-Sufficiency to any radical, impractical or politicized objectives.
While the Ranch is, and will continue to fundamentally be a "for-profit" Agricultural operation, it will engage in the direct and "incidental" activities of: aquaculture and hydroponics, including raising and marketing fish, silviculture, breeding, raising, training and grazing horses, developing poultry and egg production, growing food crops through gardening and hydroponics (including their preservation and storage), plus the raising and pasturing cattle, and the sale of beef, and activities related to mining and forest fire prevention.
Ranch products raised as a food product are intended for the use and consumption by Ranch Participants, with the excess to be used for sale on the open market.
The Ranch will additionally focus on forest restoration, forest fire training and suppression, alternate energy research and development, and, in furtherance and support of the Ranch's goals in Agriculture, the Ranch will engage in the teaching, training and practicing and perfection of the staff's and Ranch "Participants" skills necessary for them to safely and effectively perform Ranch Agricultural exempt activities.
To accomplish it's Agricultural objectives the Ranch will conduct certain additional activities of Agriculture or activities "incidental" to Agriculture, such as, but not limited to: horseback skills training; working with cattle; harvesting, preserving and storing one's own food; developing alternative energy methods to power and sustain the Ranch; plus, involvement in teaching and practical environmental activities related to Ranch and forest management.
In order to accomplish these objectives in the short-term, and position for the long-term, the Ranch must not only sell a product to create a continuing income to pay for its way in the future, but also provide a safe and secure place where individuals, families - - and their children can take an active and continuing healthy, creative and learning participation in many of the Ranch Agricultural activities and programs, plus actively participate in the many "Off-Site" activities of the Ranch.
Some programs, that may not be Agricultural exempt, will be conducted "off" the Ranch, in other non-Coconino County areas, or in the nearby U.S. Forest. These activities may be subject to applicable governmental regulations or U.S. Forest Service regulations and permits applicable to the areas of the Off-Ranch activity.
In the event of a political or environmental emergency the Ranch can become an "Oasis" of self-sufficiency for the safety, sustainability and benefit of its Participants.
February 01, 2011
We've often been asked, who is Dutch Joe? Dutch Joe's real name was Joseph G Myers, as spelled on his death certificate. It is spelled "Meyer" on his homestead certificate. It is reasonable to assume the Homestead Certificate spelling is the most correct version. He isn't Dutch at all! According to the death certificate he's Swiss. Back in the early days of Arizona's original settlement period the German speaking people called themselves "Deutscheman". This sounded like "Dutchman" to most people at that time. So they called anyone with a German accent "Dutch man". It was the same with another famous German from early Arizona history, Jacob Walsh, the proverbial "Lost Dutchman" of the "Lost Dutchman Mine" fame. Walsh wasn't Dutch either, but he was called that, just the same as Joseph Myers.
Dutch Joe Myers apparently came, to what is now called the "Dutch Joe Ranch", somewhere in the period 1870-1900. According to his death certificate (scroll down to see copy), Dutch Joe died at 82 years in 1928. In 1870 he would then have been 24 years old. In the 1880's, when the railroad first came through Winslow, Arizona, and the area began to be populated, Dutch Joe would have been 34 in 1880 and as old as 54 years of age in 1900. Both of these ages could be reasonable for a man to begin living an independent, self-sufficient bachelor's life in the backwoods of Arizona.
Local verbal history, as told by area old-timers, says that Dutch Joe, who was reported to be a "loner" and a confirmed bachelor, came to the area in 1880 – 1890. He lived in a cave on the Ranch until he could build a cabin. He was supposed to have been running a few cows and horses in a beautiful meadow with a seasonal water course running through it. There is evidence on the Ranch, and near the little meadow, of some old building sites.
Dutch Joe Myers filed for a homestead claim for about 38 acres in the meadow area (scroll down to see a copy of his Homestead Certificate for HES 188,, and it was issued on March 1, 1920).
Local residents say that Dutch Joe also operated an alcohol still in one of the remote canyons of the Ranch. One old-timer, who later became the owner of the homestead, said after Dutch Joe died, that they collected the components of the still and sold them for their scrap value sometime in the 1930's. We now call that canyon "Bootlegger Canyon".
There are also persisting rumors that say that Dutch Joe, in addition to operating his illegal alcohol "bootlegging" operation, also operated an establishment of "ill repute", or sometimes called a "Bordello" on the Ranch. Later on, long after Dutch Joe's death, a portion of the Ranch was used as a Christian girl's school. In the old days things went from one extreme to another.
Dutch Joe Meyer was found "frozen to death" at the south entrance gate to the Ranch on January 15, 1928. His birthplace was listed as Switzerland on the death certificate, and his occupation was listed as "Rancher". Apparently, in those days, being a Rancher may have covered a lot of interesting activities.
It is interesting to note that Dutch Joe's nearby neighbor "Pappy" Vincent, of the Vincent Ranch 2 miles southwest of the Dutch Joe Ranch, was reported to have been killed at his Ranch about a week before Dutch Joe froze to death. Local verbal history has it that Pappy Vincent also ran an illegal alcohol bootlegging operation. With a mixture of competing illegal alcohol operations, and then throw in the girls - - no telling what actually happened!
Dutch Joe Meyer's homestead was later purchased by the Erramuzbe family, and cattle, sheep and horses have been grazed on the homestead almost continually thereafter. Over time, due to the lack of fences, Dutch Joe's grazing expanded into the nearby forest. The U.S. Forest Service ultimately created the nearby 43,000 acre Wallace Grazing Permit. Actually, before all the area was surveyed and fenced, and ownership boundaries established, Dutch Joe's and Erramuzbe's cattle and sheep grazing occurred on a large portion of the surrounding forest long before it was officially provided for with the official grazing permit system of forest grazing management.
Currently, the one square mile area of the Dutch Joe Ranch is the "Base Property" for the Wallace Grazing Permit.
In 1940 the U.S. Forest Service completed construction on a wooden fire lookout tower on the highest portion of the Ranch. (Scroll down to See Early Photos of Dutch Joe Ranch Lookout Tower.) It was named Dutch Joe Lookout Tower and showed on official maps as such for years. It is reported that this tower was the first fire tower built in the southwest. Later, the U.S. Forest Service, much to their dismay, found that the U.S. Government did not own the one square mile area where the tower was located. The then owner of record was "Aztec Land and Cattle Co.", better known as the infamous "Hashknife Outfit". The Forest Service could not come to terms with the owners, so the U.S. Forest Service was forced to remove the tower approximately 20 years ago.
The Dutch Joe Ranch property was sold by the Aztec Land and Cattle Co., and it went through several subsequent ownerships prior to Richard E. "REB" Bunger's purchase of the property in 2001.
Bunger plans to build a replacement tower near the foundation of the original Dutch Joe Lookout Tower and plans to use it as a Ranch observation point, and also to allow the U.S. Forest Service to use it as a fire lookout. Scroll down to see artist's sketch of proposed future Dutch Joe Ranch lookout tower.
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