As Mirr Ranch Group celebrates 20 years of connecting people with extraordinary land, we’re looking back at some of the landmark transactions that shaped our history. One of the most memorable was the 2013 sale of Trees Ranch, an incredible property on the doorstep of Zion National Park.
A Landscape Like No Other
At over 2,000 acres, Trees Ranch was defined by its dramatic red rock setting, rare plant and wildlife communities, irrigated fields and orchards, and miles of riparian corridors along the Virgin River and Shunes Creek. The property also included a 60-acre lake, valuable water rights, and inimitable architecture, featuring four homes and ranch buildings that reflected the geology, history, and vernacular of the area.
Its location made it even more remarkable. Surrounded on three sides by Zion National Park and the Canaan Mountain Wilderness, Trees Ranch was a secluded and iconic conservation property with significant cultural and ecological value. The ranch bordered Utah’s first “Wild and Scenic” river segment and lay adjacent to important research and cultural sites, including the historic Shunesburg settlement and traces of the Virgin Anasazi and Paiute Indians.
As Jason Corzine of The Trust for Public Land put it at the time: “The Trees Ranch is one of the most unique ranch properties in the Southwestern United States. The ranch’s proximity to Zion National Park makes it the ultimate conservation and recreation property – a true one of a kind.”
Challenges Along the Way
Despite its beauty and conservation value, the sale of Trees Ranch came with hurdles.
- It wasn’t a traditional sporting ranch, lacking the hunting and fishing opportunities buyers often seek.
- The property generated no real income and incurred high operating expenses.
- Extensive improvements required significant updating.
- A conservation easement limited future development potential.
Overall, it was a complex transaction requiring patience, creativity, and the ability to reach conservation-minded buyers who understood the ranch’s true value.
A Conservation Legacy Continues
Ultimately, the ranch was purchased by a private party committed to stewardship. In the words of Mirr Ranch Group founder and listing broker Ken Mirr: “We are pleased to have found a buyer who will be a good steward of the land, a legacy started by Jim Trees and Lionel Pincus many years ago. They saw the ranch as an opportunity to have a national park of their own, and it looks like that legacy will continue.”
The Trees Ranch sale also fits into a broader story at Mirr Ranch Group. Around that time, the firm was also representing other rare inholdings and properties adjacent to National Parks, such as the Mantle Ranch in Dinosaur National Monument and the Sandy Ranch adjoining Capitol Reef. Each transaction demonstrated our team’s ability to navigate complexity and showcase the conservation and cultural values that make these properties irreplaceable.
Why Trees Ranch Still Stands Out
More than a decade later, Trees Ranch remains one of the most distinctive sales in Mirr Ranch Group’s history. It wasn’t just about acreage or price – it was about legacy, stewardship, and conservation. It highlighted the firm’s ability to market and sell properties that fall outside conventional definitions of a “working ranch,” but are no less critical to the cultural and ecological fabric of the West. Presently, the owners of Trees Ranch are planning on sharing its value with the public in a greater capacity.
As we reflect on 20 years of Mirr Ranch Group, the Trees Ranch transaction serves as a poignant reminder of why we do what we do: connecting extraordinary land with people who will care for it for generations to come.