from Shop Sauk County - A Madison Newspapers Supplement - Sunday, November 26, 2000
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Sauk County elk ranch tour
more bang for your buck
by Jackie Bradley

When winger comes, an aura of repose surround the Nanchas Elk Ranch, one of Sauk County's outdoor treasures.

The majestic creatures residing on the 165-acre ranch spend the winter in maintenance mode while owners Nancy and Charlie Fochs perform the daily tasks that sustain the elk herd.  "With the calving and breeding done, it's a matter of feeding and sustaining them,"  Charlie said.  During the off season, Charlie and Nancy also spend time promoting the ranch and traveling to craft shows with their antler products and elk-related gift items.

One of nearly 200 elk ranches in the state and eight in the area,  the Nanchas Ranch, Located six miles east of Reedsburg, boasts one of Wisconsin's largest herds.

"Elk once roamed the entire country,"  Charlie said.  "Lewis and Clark wrote that buffalo and elk wire the two most numerous animals the observed.  Then, during the 1800's, elk were hunted hard by people going west;  almost to the point of extinction.  They were hunted for their meat, antlers, soft hides and their two ivory teeth."  Ivory teeth were sought by Native Americans to use for trading and ornamentation on their clothing.

A recent interest in preserving and  propagating elk has encouraged their populations in the U.S. to increase.  Many states throughout the country have developed elk herds.  "Kentucky released a wiled herd, Hawaii has one private herd and so does Alaska,"  Charlie said.  "There is also a wild herd with 85 animals in the Clam Lake area of northern Wisconsin."

Charlie developed an appreciation for elk 20 years ago.  "While working as an electrician on million-dollar homes and casinos in the Tahoe area, I also became and avid elk hunter,"  Charlie said.

I didn't know it was legal to raise elk in Wisconsin, and I almost purchased a ranch in Fort Collins, Colorado.  I was impressed with the rolling hills there,"  said the Wausau native.  When he returned to Wisconsin in 1993, Charlie discovered he could raise elk in his home state.  "We found a farm in the Dells area with a terrain the reminded me of Colorado.  By the summer of 1994, Nanchas Ranch, an immaculate facility  with a healthy herd, was a reality.

"Elk, like people,  have different personalities even though we treat them all the same," Charlie said.  A visit to the ranch offers an opportunity to observe the individual differences within the Nanchas herd.

Tour guide Mark Kamrath addresses the animals by name as if greeting a friend.  Caesar,  a statuesque buck,  will eat grapes from his owner's hands.  He can also be enticed by apples, according to Kamrath.

Moses, a particular favorite, grew up among people.  "he was a bottle baby after being abandoned by his mother,"  Kamrath said.  Moses also bonded with Rocky, a Great Dane and the ranch's resident canine.  The two were once the same size and great playmates.  Although Moses now weighs 600 pounds the tow remain good friends.  "One year, they were dressed for Halloween as an angel and devil."  Kamrath said.

Tiny, a gentle little female borne late in the calving season, was bottle fed by Nancy and Charlie.  "She may have been premature or a surviving twin,"  Kamrathe said.  "While the normal weight of a newborn elk is 30-40 pounds, Tiny weighed in at only 17".  Having been raised by humans, she remains very tame.

Duncan, at 1,150 pounds, is the largest animal on the ranch and comes with and excellent pedigree.  "His father, Reed, is a wild elk who was raised on a farm," Kamrath said.  "When artificial insemination is used to enhance the genetic quality of the Nanchas herd, a straw of semen to inseminate one cow, at $1500, is pricey."

Elk are raised for five purposes;  breeding stock, the hard antler industry, velvet antler industry, the meat industry and shooting preserves.  "We have never sold an animal to a shooting preserve," Charlie said.  Visitors can enjoy a wagon ride, where they observe the contented animals living in a safe and stress-free existence in a natural setting.  Preceding the wagon ride,  visitors watch a video that provides a glimpse of how the elk live as well as a filmed demonstration of a Nanchas bull shedding his antlers.

After the tour,  visitors can peruse a large gift shop filled with whistles, serving sets, jewelry, hunting knives and belt buckles made from antlers shed by bulls on the ranch.

In addition to producing breeding stock, the Nanchas elk herd is used for the hard antler industry.  Antlers, shed in March and April, can be used to make a wide variety of items.  Hard antlers require 90-120 days of growing according to Kamrath.

"We currently do not harvest velvet antlers,"  Nancy said.  Velvet antlers require 68-72 growing days and would be harvested sometime in June.  However, Antler Power,  a velvet antler product, is available in the Nanchas gift shop.  Velvet antlers are used for medicinal purposes to enhance joint function, stamina and the immune system.

"There is always something to see at the ranch," Charlie said.  "People could come two or three times a year.  They can see calving in the spring, the growth of the big bulls with velvet antlers in the summer and breeding in the fall.  It's 100 percent nature."

The Nanchas Ranch, a popular Dells attraction, also represents a favorite destination for motor coach and motor coach mystery tours.  "It was the best part of the trip.  It's the best kept secret in the Dells area,"  one motor coach visitor said.

Nanchas Ranch is located six miles east of Reedsburg on County Truck H or 9 miles west of Wisconsin Dells on Country Trunk H.  Hours: 10:00 a. m. - 5 p. m., from Memorial day to October.  Closed on Mondays.  Phone 608-524-4355 for more details.

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