Born to Clara and Jay Newman Grantier, A. Jay Grantier has deep roots in western North Dakota. His father was a pioneer cowboy and rancher who rode the Long X trail cattle drives from Texas to Dakota. When Jay was just one-year-old, his father died and some years later his mother married another rancher, Nels Langdon, owner of the VVV Ranch, south of Sentinel Butte on the banks of the Little Missouri River. Thus it was that the young Jay had every expectation that he, too, would be a cowboy. His life took a different turn when his step-father died, the ranch was sold, and Jay attended the SD School of Mines and Technology to pursue a career as a mechanical engineer.

This led to a rather nomadic life, which took him to all fifty states, culminating in international work in the Far East and England. In retirement, he moved back to ND where he learned of a newly fledged group called Badlands Conservation Alliance. He became a charter member and has served on our Board of Directors. Jay has two sons and a daughter and seven granddaughters. He enjoys reading and volunteers at the Fort Walla Walla Museum and the Blue Mountain Humane Society, where he now lives in the Pacific Northwest with his partner, Heidi and their rescue dog, Sweetpea.

Jay says, “I've remained a member of the BCA for a simple reason — for the years I'd been engaged in corporate work around the world, Dakota had been my sanctuary, a place to come home to, to get a breath of fresh air, get some energy back in the system. Now, coming back to ND from time to time, the most pressing problems seem obvious: for all too many, land is meant to be drilled, tilled or grazed; otherwise, according to their thinking, it's useless. For those folks, the restorative value provided by the beauty and the quiet of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park and the Little Missouri Grasslands has no meaning. Though sad, it's the reality.”

Jay goes on to say, “The challenge for BCA and its members is to remain stalwart in face of the challenges posed by politicians hungry for the tax revenue, by oil interests hungry for profits, and by those in agriculture wanting to expand their operations. All such objectives are, of course, legitimate, but no more legitimate than the 'food for the soul' provided by Mother Nature. Balance is essential!”

BCA Member Profile: Jay Grantier