Kyle Bass Explains Why He is Burning Part of His Ranch in Texas

How many billionaires do you know walking around their property in jeans and boots…setting things on fire? That is what Kyle Bass, one of the country’s most well-known hedge fund managers, was doing. Bass is no arsonist. But he is working to light a fire – both on his grounds at Bluebonnet Ranch in Texas and with potential buyers and investors – about restoring the ecological sustainability of wetlands and streams.

While Bass personally believes in this project’s environmental benefits, he also is not doing this as a philanthropic effort. There is a business purpose, too. 

Texas Monthly profiled Bass and his work with one of his newest ventures, Conservation Equity Management. 

“Conservation Equity Management’s work is more than simply cosmetic. Bass is employing foresters and wildlife-habitat specialists to restore the health of wetlands and streams. These efforts earn the company mitigation credits that it can sell to developers, who are required by the federal Clean Water Act to compensate for damage they cause to such ecosystems. Ten acres restored by Conservation Equity Management, for instance, could offset the paving over of five acres for the construction of a shopping center or subdivision elsewhere. In fast-growing Texas, demand for these credits can make mitigation projects lucrative,” Texas Monthly wrote to describe what Bass is trying to do.  

The Business Model Behind Conservation Equity Management

Conservation Equity Management defines its purpose as, “identifying conservation and environmental mitigation assets while applying value-driven ecosystem enhancement techniques to capture step-up valuations.”

The concept is to bring multiple beneficiaries while also enhancing value. The company’s website states, “…conservation investment that not only benefits our investors but the natural world and surrounding communities.”  

Bass, a headline speaker in January at the Land Investment Expo in Des Moines, Iowa, frequently stresses the importance of increasing both the natural beauty and value of conservation-focused properties.

RELATED: Kyle Bass will sometimes search for a “holy grail” as he explained to American Farmland Owner last November.