A pond, meadows and timber are seen from this Rudio Ranch view north of Miller Flat.

PORTLAND – An 8,270-acre tract of the Rudio Ranch east and north of Dayville is up for sale next week, and the broker reports relatively strong interest from potential bidders.

John Rosenthal, president of Realty Marketing/Northwest, said the market has picked up for Eastern Oregon rural properties and particularly those that feature water and hunting potential.

“There’s been quite a bit of interest in it,” he said of Rudio, adding that several potential bidders toured the property recently.

The property carries a reserve price of $3.35 million – about $405 per acre – and sealed bids are due Nov. 19. Under the sale terms, the seller is committed to accept the high bid if the bidding reaches or exceeds the reserve price; if it does not, the seller can accept, counter or reject the high bid within five days.

Rosenthal said this property seems to be attracting individual buyers looking for a hunting preserve or a long-term investment, rather than commercial operators.

The land, located between the North Fork John Day River and the John Day Fossil Beds, and contains the headwaters of four creeks: Gilmore, Camp, Straight and Shirttail. The headwaters of Rudio Creek is south of the property.

It also features numerous springs and stock ponds, with good habitat for deer and elk as well as potential for grazing.

Rosenthal said the land is not leased for grazing now, and a current hunting lease is scheduled to expire Dec. 31.

Within the boundaries are 11 small Bureau of Land Management inholdings, but there is no public access to them.

The sales brochure says the property has about 8 million board feet of timber, primarily Ponderosa pine. A wildfire last August hit about 750 acres at the northeast end of the property, impacting about 400,000 board feet of timber.

The sale parcel is the latest part of the D.R. Johnson holdings in Grant County to go on the block. According to the firm, the seller has already sold about 27,300 acres of the ranch in the past four years.

In 2010, the proposed sale of some Johnson family holdings drew the attention of the Grant County Court. At that time the Court authorized then-Judge Mark Webb and King Williams to approach the family about a possible deal. The intent was to preserve some socio-economic opportunities for the county, they said.

The current County Court has not had any discussion about this sale, however.