Click here for information about the 2024 Wildlife Speaker Series

Welcome to the Ruby Habitat Foundation’s home page.  We are a non-profit, working ranch in Southwest Montana dedicated to fulfilling the vision of our founders, Craig and Martha Woodson.

Our mission encourages balance between agriculture and wildlife, and we allow managed access to the ranch for a wide range of activities, from flyfishing to birdwatching (we have identified 136 species on the ranch so far!!  Here’s a link to the complete list).  Our educational outreach programs include field trips with local school kids (from Kindergarten through College), to Wildlife Speakers and other programs.

2022 was a seismic year at Ruby Habitat Foundation as Martha Woodson passed, following her beloved husband, Craig, into the great beyond. We managed to adjust, and 2023 came along to remind us that we don’t control everything, no matter how hard we try. Our irrigators got stuck at the border this year, but, one example of things we don’t control is the weather, and the weather cooperated to give a welcomed watery assist to those of us filling in for the irrigators. We learned quite a bit along the way, led by our new Executive Director, Dan Durham.

Also in 2023, the orchard suffered a setback at the hands of…you guessed it…the weather. We had a lot of snow, and that made for good habitat for voles who, in conjunction with some fence-hopping porcupines and rabbits, damaged many trees, and killed about 1/3. We are ever-amazed at the resilience of nature, though, as the trees bounced back in fine form. We have take steps to up-armor the fence a bit and hope that this keeps the critters at bay in the coming winter of 23-24.

2024 has already begun to unfold with its own share of surprises, but one surprise we won’t have is the date of our Wildlife Speaker Series which we have chosen as Thursday, August 1. Dinner at 5:30 and presentation at 7. Mountain Lions will be the topic, and our speakers are Ashley Hodge from the Fish Wildlife and Parks, and Jake Herak, a houndsman and TV Personality from the “Mountain Man” series.

Recognizing that open space and wild spaces are finite, we stand for them and encourage you to get in touch with us to find out how we can help.  Whether you visit virtually, or stay in our luxurious Hill House lodging, we are sure Woodson Ranch will provide you with a memorable experience!