LandTrust.com, which was founded in 2019, promises to connect outdoor recreationists with private landowners, most often for hunting or fishing but also for activities like hiking, bird watching and more. The Montana-based business allows owners to list their properties and name their price for various hobbies.
LandTrust founder and CEO Nic De Castro told the Idaho Statesman in an email that the service is a win-win for outdoor enthusiasts and landowners, the majority of whom De Castro said are “owner/operator, multigenerational farms and ranches.”
The idea has drawn concern from some outdoor recreation experts, especially over its affiliation with Dan and Farris Wilks, the Cisco, Texas, oil tycoons who gated off roads across their properties. But LandTrust has also garnered support over its potential to benefit struggling farmers and ranchers.
Wilks brothers list access to Idaho properties
According to financial news site FinSMEs, the Wilkses led a $6 million Series A funding round, a fundraising effort in which stock is issued to investors, earlier this year. The website reported that LandTrust planned to use the funds to expand into five more states. Currently, it partners with landowners in more than a dozen states, primarily in the Midwest, Intermountain West and South.
The Wilks brothers, who earned billions selling a fracking company, gained prominence in Idaho and Montana in the late 2010s after buying tens of thousands of acres across several properties. In multiple instances, they erected gates at their property boundaries to block access on roads that had long been used by the public — and which some critics say are public rights-of-way that were illegally blocked off.
The Wilkses also backed a controversial 2018 law that hiked penalties for trespassing on private property.
Now Idaho residents can access some of their properties through LandTrust. Three properties are listed on the site under the name “DF D” — referencing DF Development, the name of one of the brothers’ businesses. Two of the properties are near Idaho City, and the other is near New Meadows. All of the listings say they are new additions to the site.
Booking the sites could cost as much as $4,300 for five days of self-guided hunting or $4,500 for bear hunting with a guide, according to the listings. Other activities include shed hunting for around $100 per day, bird watching and wildlife photography for $82 per guest per day, or $35 per guest per day for “outdoor recreation.”
The Wilkses’ listings make up a combined 8,600 acres — about 70% of the 12,000 acres De Castro said LandTrust lists in Idaho.
Though the brothers drew the ire of many Idaho hunters in years past, De Castro said he has no reservations about working with the pair.
“Yes, the Wilks (brothers) are very large private landowners, but we treat them just like any other landowner who chooses to facilitate controlled recreation access to their land through LandTrust,” De Castro told the Idaho Statesman.“If you believe in property rights, why should they be treated any differently?
“As far as reputation, we have multigenerational landowners who’ve bordered Wilks properties for years and have said that they’re good neighbors,” he added. “Their opinion carries weight with us.