A Conversation with April & Hyland Wilkinson
GJ Livestock LLC
McDermitt, Oregon-Nevada
by
Ellen Waterston
That the high-altitude streams on Disaster Peak are running cold and clear is nothing short of a miracle. That small populations of a large bright-orange species of Lahontan cutthroat trout are still inhabiting those perennial streams is nothing short of a miracle. That generational ranching operations are part of that miracle is nothing short of a miracle. And, a conversation with the Wilkinson family reminds us that, all are threatened.
Just to orient you, the Trout Creek Mountains straddle southeastern Oregon and northern Nevada. The nearest outposts are Fields, Oregon (23 miles northwest), Denio, Nevada (15 miles west), and McDermitt, Nevada-Oregon (30 miles east). The Trout Creeks’ sagebrush grasslands, velvet-blonde slopes, and impressive peaks and canyons are home to the who’s who of healthy desert habitat, including greater sage-grouse, pygmy rabbit, California bighorn sheep, bobcat, great horned owl, mountain lion, golden eagle and sandhill crane.
It wasn’t always so. Cattle ranching started in this big empty in the late 1800s. By the 1900s, the impact of unrestricted grazing was evident in eroded stream banks, disrupted vegetation and, thanks to cattle’s appetite for the saplings, dwindling aspen populations. The resultant lack of overstory robbed the streams of needed shade and then water temperatures rose, and then, and then… In 1975, the Lahontan cutthroat living in those creeks were designated as a threatened species of the West under the Endangered Species Act. When they were documented in the Trout Creek Mountains in the late 1980s, environmental groups wasted no time, lobbying the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to cancel cattle grazing permits in the Trout Creeks. “Not so fast!” was the strong response of frustrated ranchers who banded together to protect their grazing allotments. Lines were drawn, words were exchanged, sides were taken, and never-ending litigation seemed inevitable.
That is until 1988, when, against all odds, livestock owners, environmentalists, government agencies, and other stakeholders formed the Trout Creek Mountain Working Group. Its mission was to protect both the land’s ecological health and ranchers’ economic needs. Many cattle operations in the region signed on, including the Whitehorse, Disaster Peak, Wilkinson, and Zimmerman ranches. After countless meetings over several years, BLM had reviewed, approved, and put into effect a new grazing management plan by 1992, the same year Hyland Wilkinson was born.
Hyland is now thirty-two years old. His laconic demeanor and strong physique are hard-earned, having literally spent most of his life horseback while tending livestock and range. To the cowboy manner born, Hyland is the fifth generation to call the Wilkinson cattle ranches home. His great uncle, George Wilkinson, operated the Little Meadow Ranch just across the Oregon border. His grandfather, Fred, before his death in 2024, had emerged as the standard-bearer for the family. He grew the family’s holdings by both purchasing and leasing deeded ground in and around McDermitt, supplemented by BLM grazing allotments. In addition to his prowess as a rancher and businessman, Fred was all about community. He remains the longest serving member of an Oregon school board in the state’s history, served 25 years on the board of directors for the McDermitt, NV Fourth of July Ranch Hand Rodeo, and was an ardent 4-H supporter. He was also at the table during the Trout Creek Mountain Working Group meetings and emerged a strong proponent of rotation grazing, an approach and philosophy his son, Nick, and, now, his grandson Hyland, are carrying on. Thanks to Fred and Judy Wilkinson’s example (as demonstrated in the ranching practices of their son, Nick, and his wife, Jaimi), the family’s work ethic and business savvy have been successfully passed on to Hyland.
“I was taught a long time ago from my grandfather and dad that if we were going to stay in the ranching business there was this environmental push for ranchers and environmental agencies to come together and do this conservation-style of grazing,” says Hyland. “It’s better for the cattle, better for the environment, the ranches are way better.”
And “come together” they did. Following the drought in the 1990s and 2000s, the Wilkinsons were hired to run the Disaster Peak Ranch for the Zimmerman family. Such was the reputation of the father/son duo as good land stewards, they continued on when it was later sold to Western Rivers Conservancy to conserve outstanding Lahontan cutthroat trout and greater sage-grouse habitats. A working cattle ranch for decades, the Disaster Peak Ranch has benefitted from the conservation values of its managers while also keeping the ranch in operation. “Conservation groups can afford to buy these properties, lease back to the rancher, let the rancher call it home. You don’t own it, but it’s like you own it,” says Hyland, who is chiefly responsible for Disaster Peak Ranch operations.
Combined with their existing owned and leased properties, the ranch provides a needed water resource for the Wilkinsons. With it, according to Hyland, they’re pretty much drought resistant with ground in the lower meadows and in the mountains. “We’ll always have water. In tough years, we’ll have a back-up plan: stored feed and enough ground to scatter cattle around on. You’d never know they’re there.”
Hyland sees another benefit of working with conservancy organizations. “Oregon Desert Land Trust people have a background in ranching, understand what it takes. Working sunrise to sunset, ranchers don’t have time to fight, fight; to find the time to meet six different people over one thing. It’s great to have another organization to help.” Hyland’s wife, April, chimes in, “ODLT is like a translator for the rancher. Environmental language is not a language every rancher speaks.”
April grew up as part of the Wilson family in Orovada, Nevada just across the Oregon border. Originally, her family ranched and farmed in Surprise Valley, California, but increased involvement in opal mining prompted the move. After graduating from the University of Nevada-Reno with a degree in social work, April worked as a licensed social worker at the McDermitt Combined School before marrying Hyland in 2020 and starting a family. Now, with Wilson and Wilkinson extended family living nearby on both sides of the Oregon/Nevada border, April likes to joke, “From Wilson to Wilkinson… I put kin in between!”
While at the school, April also taught leadership, was the freshman class and honors society advisor, ran the assemblies, coached and refereed basketball, and was the sports announcer. That’s just for starters. “Have to do everything. Small town… have to do it all.” And she doesn’t just “do” it. She does it well. It’s clear this whip-smart and athletic young woman gives her full attention to everything she’s involved with. It’s true, now that she’s married and ranching, “all” is defined slightly differently, but the list remains dauntingly long: ranch work, including accompanying Hyland horseback when needed (“I have to go with him or wouldn’t see him,” says April.); caring for two infant sons; maintaining the cattle records; keeping the books; and keeping up with no small number of community commitments.
Both Hyland and April give me a blank look when I ask about vacations. I rephrase the question, “Time off?” Well, they took a trip to the ranch rodeo finals in Winnemucca. “No kids. Stayed out late,” says April with a who-needed-it shrug. They were glad to get back to what they love. “The very best part about agriculture is the way of life,” says April. “It’s unlike any other. You work most days with family. How many can say that? Most days you’re raising children to do what you do. I look around and know this place is the result of all of us. I can see what was done before, generationally, and can look around and see what we can do better to carry on the tradition. People think agriculture is so safe. It’s not!” She picks up her three-year-old son, Westyn, settles him on her lap, and directs her gaze at me: “It’s important to let people know about us, what we do.”
That will soon be happening. This young ranch couple, who might as well be from Central Casting, will soon be on the big screen as part of a film made by Portland, Oregon documentary filmmaker Sean Grasso. His multi-year project focuses on many of the issues rural communities in southeastern Oregon and northeastern Nevada are facing and is slated for release on public television platforms in 2026. April and Hyland hope the documentary will include perspectives on how important and how threatened the ranching way of life is in the region.
“There are many ranchers with no generation underneath them,” Hyland points out. “In this valley, only two [generational] ranches left… only two left. Opportunity to pick up ground, I guess,” he says somewhat wistfully. “All these other jobs pay insurance, get weekends off. It’s harder to find a wife willing to live this life… up all times of night or day. Used to be families on all the ranches. Now, absentee owned. Now, nobody.”
Rearing its ugly head… again… is another major culprit in the history of the decline of the Lahontan trout habitat. Approaching McDermitt from the south, you can’t miss the giant billboard welcoming you into town. “Life Not Lithium” it declares in bold letters.
The McDermitt Caldera, a collapsed lava dome, marks the southern edge of the Trout Creek Mountains. In days past it was touted as producing the richest supply of mercury in the western hemisphere. Now lithium is the hot topic. A large deposit is located on Disaster Peak Ranch, which sits within the large caldera. Hyland warns that mining the lithium would ruin the Disaster Peak Ranch environment and operation. “They will take all of the Disaster Peak [BLM] permit. If Western Rivers hadn’t bought the ranch, the mining companies would have.” According to Hyland, three different prospect companies are currently drilling “all the way through the caldera.” He reflects for a minute, then adds, “The environmental perspective looks more interesting to me. It’s ironic that for green energy they will destroy one of the most beautiful places on this green, God-given earth.”
Photos provided by the Wilkinsons
Published February, 2025
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