Media mogul Ted Turner, who died Wednesday, once owned four ranches in Montana and the largest bison herd in North America. His friends say he was most at home at the Flying D Ranch and its 113,613 acres of wildness in the southwest part of the state.

“When the history of conservation in America is written, there ought to be a chapter dedicated to Ted Turner and how he alone, in essence, created the concept of conservation ranching, using large private landscapes primarily for wildlife habitat and conservation purposes.” Brian Yablonski, CEO of the Bozeman-based Property and Environmental Research Center (PERC)