The Ranches Behind the Wildlife: Historic TE Ranch to Open Its Gates for Community Tour 

CODY, Wyo. –Working ranches along the Absaroka Front do more than raise cattle. They help maintain open landscapes and important wildlife habitat for elk, mule deer, and other species moving between the Absaroka Mountains and Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.  

Members of the community are invited to tour the historic TE Ranch, founded by Buffalo Bill Cody and still privately owned, on September 12th to learn about its history, day-to-day ranch operations, conservation investments, and role in maintaining wildlife habitat along the Absaroka Front. Visitors will have an opportunity to see the ranch firsthand and ask questions about what it takes to maintain a working ranch.   

“Wildlife across the West depends on private land,” said Western Landowners Alliance Policy Manager and Park County native Shaleas Harrison. “Along the Absaroka Front, for example, private lands provide vital winter range and hundreds of elk calve each year on ranches such as the TE.”  

The tour offers a unique opportunity to see this relationship firsthand and learn how managers support wildlife and keep these landscapes healthy.  

Founded by the famous showman and Wyoming booster Buffalo Bill in the late 1800s, the TE remains a working cattle ranch and an important part of the Cody community’s history and economy. Today, the ranch also provides habitat for big game moving between the Absaroka Mountains, Yellowstone National Park, and Grand Teton National Park.  

“The TE is a special place, and we’re excited to share its history and the work that goes into caring for the ranch,” said Mary Anne Dingus, whose family owns the ranch. 

Dingus and TE Ranch Manager Erick Modfeldt will lead the tour, hosted by the Western Landowners Alliance, whose mission is to support policies and practices that sustain working lands, connected landscapes, and native species.  

TE Ranch Community Tour  

September 12th | 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.  

Community members interested in attending can register here or by emailing Shaleas Harrison at sharrison@westernlandowners.org.