Camp Patriot hits snag in ranch search

Micah Clark could almost taste the mesquite. After more than a year working with a landowner in northwestern Montana, it finally looked like Camp Patriot would have the foothold it so badly wanted to create, a retreat for disabled veterans.

Clark already had in mind the trees he wanted to order. After raising about 80 percent of his goal of $2 million, Clark was ready to land his dream ranch. The place just needed to be inspected.

What happened next is the latest in a series of ups and downs Clark and anyone else in the nonprofit world are all too familiar with. The 159-acre ranch with a 16-acre lake, two 4,500-square foot log homes and a 3,000-square foot homestead building was no perfect fit, but Clark was willing to put in as much elbow grease as necessary to get the place ready for injured veterans looking for recovery through the completion of nature challenges once thought impossible.

First, the property owner wanted to jump into escrow. Then he wanted inspection done as quickly as possible. By the time the inspector got there, the man decided he was not going to put up with any inspection at all. Just like that, the deal was off.

“It is pretty disheartening,” Clark said. “I know plenty of people were excited to see the ranch. We did everything we could to dot our i’s and cross our t’s. We just didn’t expect this, man.”

Camp Patriot began as an idea in 2002, when Clark was working as a Special Response Team member for the Department of Energy. Over his years, he saw a rise in the number of wounded soldiers living through traumatic injuries. Since 2006, his nonprofit organization, Camp Patriot, has taken more than 130 wounded veterans on outdoor adventure trips that aspire to reinvigorate self-confidence and hope.

Clark has been raising money to purchase a 150-acre ranch in northwest Montana. The Camp Patriot Disabled Veterans Retreat Ranch is expected to open the door to endless possibilities — fly fishing, kayaking, mountain biking, horseback riding.

Now, Camp Patriot has returned to the market, searching for an outdoor adventureland where wounded veterans can rediscover themselves. Fundraising has increased in recent months. The non-profit had about $200,000 in October, but continues to receive contributions ranging from $1 to much more.

“We weren’t looking to nickel and dime the guy,” Clark said. “We just can’t make this kind of investment without inspecting the place first.”

A former Fleet Marine Force Corpsman, Clark spends his days working connections, hoping to one day invite hundreds of America’s heroes to his place. Ideally, the land would be at least 100 acres in Northwest Montana with water access and enough buildings to sleep 40 people.

“The federal government has elaborate and costly battle plans to fight wars; however, caring for the men and women who become wounded and disabled as a result of wars is an afterthought at best,” Bob Vera, communications director for Camp Patriot, wrote. “Evidence of this ill planning comes in the form of epidemics of veteran homelessness, unemployment and suicide.”