Ranches work as retreats for rich

0 Comments | USA TODAY, November, 2006 | by Patrick O'Driscoll

DENVER -- Wealthy absentee owners are converting more of the West's ranches and farms into personal hunting and fishing playgrounds, including areas near scenic Yellowstone National Park. Well-heeled outsiders, dubbed "amenity ranchers," are not a new phenomenon, but their growing appetite for these retreats is.

Even as housing prices slump in cities and suburbs, the market flourishes for getaways with hundreds or thousands of acres of mountain, forest or prairie. Two retailers of hunting and fishing gear, Cabela's and Orvis, have even launched operations to sell dream properties. "Since we already offer everything that sportsmen and women need to succeed in the field, why not make the field itself more accessible?" says David Nelson, manager of Cabela's Trophy Properties. A...