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Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resources Trust representatives Bob Budd (left) and Hardy Tate (middle) lookout over a conservation easement in Sheridan County with Dave Clarendon (right)
The Padlock conservation easement near Sheridan.
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CHEYENNE – Concerned about the threat of prime, agricultural landscapes being gobbled up by development, two Johnson County landowners took steps to save their iconic Wyoming ranch lands. Marking the first Johnson County conservation easements held by the Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust, Kevin and Judy Lund donated 2,240 acres comprising Powder River Ranch and Fourmile Creek Ranch east of Kaycee. “Much of our river acreage is prime development land and we wanted to make sure it stayed a ranch forever,” Judy Lund said. “Keeping the land as a ranch is what we work toward and what we have achieved through this easement.” The newly conserved ranch lands have been in the Lund family for more than 70 years, and are home to many interesting natural, agricultural and historical features. The productive cow/calf operation supports a diverse variety of domestic stock including cattle, horses, sheep, goats and the occasional yak. It is also land that has impacted dozens of lives. “It’s amazing to stop and think about how many lives this place has touched,” Kevin Lund said. “Families used to send their kids to work on the ranch. Until my folks passed away, they’d get a dozen Christmas cards from people who still remembered my folks and the ranch.” The Powder River Ranch is situated directly on the river and contains wetlands, irrigated hay fields, cottonwood-gallery forests and upland range. In addition to the domestic stock, it supports abundant wildlife including thriving herds of both whitetail and mule deer. Fourmile Creek Ranch lies several miles north and contains vast, rolling plains of mixed-grass prairie rangeland. Standing on the Fourmile Creek property, the view is broken only by the Bighorn Mountains to the west and Pumpkin Buttes to the east. “We are very pleased to accept the gift of these conservation easements, our first in Johnson County,” Stock Growers Ag Land Trust Southeast Field Representative Leah Burgess said. “Under the excellent stewardship of the Lund family, the properties have come to exemplify the very best of Wyoming; they are productive, diverse, scenic and historically unique places that provide both a window to the past, and now, a view to the future of protected ranch lands in Johnson County.” The Lunds’ generous contribution brings the Stock Growers Ag Land Trust’s protected working lands to 112,408 acres.
Partnership protects sage grouse habitat, ag land Demonstrating a commitment to protecting family-owned ranches, open space and wildlife habitat, the Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust and The Conservation Fund recently completed a critical conservation project in the Upper Green River Valley. Key funding was provided by the Jonah Interagency Office (JIO). The Aspen Ridge Habitat Conservation Project protects 640 acres of prime sage grouse habitat and improves habitat conditions on 10,400 acres of adjacent Bureau of Land Management (BLM) acreage. The conservation easement will remain in private ownership for agricultural use. “This partnership fosters a greater understanding and cooperation between agricultural and conservation communities,” said The Conservation Fund Wyoming Director Luke Lynch. “We’ve covered so much ground in the past few years and have made a real difference in the habitat quality of the Upper Green River Valley, while preserving Wyoming’s strong legacy of family ranching.” Aside from the agricultural operation, the property contains two active sage grouse breeding grounds and an antelope migration corridor. It also sustains mule deer, elk, moose and more than 60 of Wyoming’s species of greatest conservation need. Joining with the surrounding BLM land and other private lands under conservation easements, the Aspen Ridge property forms a continuous 35,000-acre block of conserved land. “Through our partnership with The Conservation Fund and the JIO, we have served the landowner’s conservation goals while forever protecting natural and agricultural resources with high public value,” said Stock Growers Ag Land Trust Field Representative Leah Burgess. The Conservation Fund negotiated the terms and the purchase of the easement with ranch owners Bob McNeel and Eva and Lee Kelly. The Stock Growers Ag Land Trust, with consultation from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, will monitor the conditions of the property. The JIO provided a majority of the funding with additional financial support coming from the Tom Thorne Sage Grouse Conservation Fund and The Nature Conservancy, through a Doris Duke Charitable Foundation grant. “The Aspen Ridge Project is a real win-win for sage grouse and landowners,” said Mark Winland, former Tom Thorne Fund board member. “Easements are a powerful tool. It’s not just temporary development like oil and gas that is harmful. Subdivision of the land is a permanent detriment to the sage grouse.” “The Jonah Interagency Office prizes its relationships with private landowners making a living in agriculture,” Lucas said. “This wonderful synergy among landowners and partners has additionally provided important habitat connectivity with adjacent areas of high conservation values.” The Conservation Fund and the Stock Growers Ag Land Trust pioneered the use of oil and gas mitigation funds from the JIO in 2008. Since then, the partners have used JIO funds to conserve nearly 8,000 acres in the Upper Green River Valley.
Final 2009 Conservation Easements Close Clarendon “I saw the open space disappearing,” owner Dave Clarendon said. “This easement will make it easier for the next generation to pick up the reins and carry on.” This easement was also purchased with dollars matched by WWNRT, FRPP and the Doris Duke Charitable Trust through TNC. The landowner contributed more than 25 percent of the value of the conservation easement. Scott and Padlock III The nationally known Padlock Ranch Company and Scott families operate large and productive cattle and hay operations. The donated easements provide a key open-space buffer and migration corridor for a variety of wildlife. “The easement will protect Mock Gulch, a species rich wildlife area and will protect one mile of Tongue River riparian corridor containing a Great Blue Heron rookery,” said Don Luse, Natural Resource Manager for Padlock Ranch. “The protection of ‘special’ places is the desire of the ranch ownership and our management philosophy.” Focus The Focus Ranch is located in the Upper Little Snake River Valley and is comprised primarily of riparian areas, irrigated meadows, cottonwood galleries and large areas of sagebrush dominated rangelands. The ranch provides habitat for black bear, elk, mule deer, bald eagles and greater sage grouse. “We live in a special place and we very much want to see it continue to look as it has for the past century,” landowners Terry and Maureen Reidy said. The Reidy family generously donated approximately 55 percent of the overall value of the conservation easements. The Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust contributed to the remaining purchase of the easement along with many public and private Colorado-based funders.
Lander Conservation Easement Finalized LANDER – Six-hundred and seventy-four acres of working ranchland near Lander will remain in agriculture due to a newly placed conservation easement agreed on by Stan and Lillian Hovendick and the Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust. The Hovendicks run a cow-calf operation and raise alfalfa on one of the few remaining ranches along Highway 789. This productive land provides winter range for mule deer and pronghorn and buffers a sage grouse lek on the adjacent Wind River Reservation. Development has overtaken much of the area, encroaching upon traditional habitat and reducing both the distribution and abundance of wildlife. The Hovendicks have worked diligently to maintain a balance between the wildlife and agricultural components of their ranch. The property includes approximately one mile of the Popo Agie River corridor and provides access for wildlife to the Wind River Reservation to the north and to ranches and federal land to the south. Public fishing can be accessed using a tribal permit to this segment of the river. “We are happy knowing that after Stan and I retire, our land will not be subdivided and our ranch will carry on for generations to come,” Lillian Hovendick said. “Because of the easement we were able to put a pivot over our hayfields which will save water, be more efficient and also reduce the work load. The easement also gives us peace of mind that the abundant wildlife we so greatly value will be preserved.” The conservation easement was purchased with funding from the Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) through the Farm and Ranchland Protection Program, the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resources Trust, local donors and a grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation through The Nature Conservancy. Project partners include The Conservation Fund and the Wind River Program of the Jackson Hole Land Trust. “We are fortunate to have an exceptional working relationship with the Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust,” Xavier Montoya, NRCS State Conservationist said. “This partnership, and the resulting collective funding, affords Wyoming agriculture producers incredible opportunities for conservation easements, allowing them to provide long term natural resource benefits while maintaining and sustaining working farms and ranches in Wyoming.” Pamela Dewell, Executive Director of the Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust said, “The Lander area is losing its working landscape to residential subdivision and with that, a loss of all that we depend on agricultural lands to provide. This conservation easement eliminates the possibility of subdivision of the property and ensures that it will continue to provide food and fiber, open space and wildlife habitat as the community around it continues to grow.” The Hovendick project is the first conservation easement the Land Trust has completed in Fremont County. Western Wyoming Land Conservation Deal Benefits More Than WildlifeJonah Interagency Office, The Conservation Fund and
As part of an ongoing effort to safeguard wildlife habitat within the Green River valley, a group of public agencies and nonprofit groups today protected more than 1,800 acres on a working ranch through a conservation easement, a legal, voluntary agreement that calls for the landowner to permanently restrict the type and amount of development that occurs on his or her property. Wyoming Game & Fish Department, an agency of the Jonah Interagency Mitigation and Reclamation Office (JIO), identified the Cottonwood Ranches as a priority for conservation because of its prime habitat for sage grouse, Shiras Moose, mule deer, pronghorn antelope and numerous migratory birds. The entire property is classified as crucial winter range for one or more big game species. The Conservation Fund worked with the owners of the Cottonwood Ranches, the Botur family, to complete the easement. Funding for the purchase came from JIO, the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resources Trust Fund, and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation through The Nature Conservancy. The Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust will monitor and enforce the restrictions set forth in the easement. ”This is a new model – all of us working together towards a common goal – and we’ve now permanently protected just under 5,000 deeded acres and helped enhance over 35,000 acres of the most critical habitat in the Green River Valley over the past 12 months – a testament to the JIO and the other groups all pulling in the same direction,” said Luke Lynch, Wyoming state director for The Conservation Fund. “The Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust appreciates the contributions of the Botur family in keeping important agricultural lands in production,” said Mark Eisele, Board President, Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust. “Maintaining open spaces and the long-time ranching heritage benefit the entire community.” Conservation easements are a valuable tool in conservation, with benefits beyond habitat protection. Landowners are eligible for various tax incentives for putting their land under an easement. Because the land remains privately owned, property taxes are still generated, securing the base of the local economy. The easement on the Cottonwood Ranches also ensures that the property will forever be used as a working ranch, preserving the legacy of ranching that the area is known for. “It is these kinds of successes, with motivated people, to do great things in this landscape of our home, our Wyoming, that keeps me going,” said Freddie Botur, owner of Cottonwood Ranches. “While achieving a great number of acres that will be protected from future development in prime habitat, we have also increased the ability for our ranch to be an agricultural success, a story that is also parallel to the success of all the incredible species that it supports.” “This is such a great opportunity for all of us, to address a myriad of things that will benefit all resources, and in particular wildlife and livestock,” said Dan Stroud of the Jonah Interagency Office. “Perhaps even more important, is the building of relationships that will hopefully perpetuate over time; with an emphasis on the sharing of information between all partners with the ultimate goal of enhancing both wildlife habitat and livestock needs. With the partners and players involved, we can all benefit from everyone’s ideas as well. It’s just a win:win scenario for all involved.” “This JIO project exemplifies how livestock and wildlife values can be incorporated into stewardship practices that maintain both a viable ranch operation and sage-grouse habitats,” said Lisa Reinhart of the Wyoming Department of Agriculture. “We are always excited and proud to be a part of projects that preserve Wyoming’s ranching heritage and demonstrate excellent stewardship of Wyoming’s natural resources.” This deal is part of a broader effort to protect land in the Green River valley. On Cottonwood Ranches, the partners had previously protected over 1,000 acres and are working with the Botur family to place more of the ranch under an easement. The first easement pioneered the use of funds from JIO, which was established to mitigate impacts of oil and gas development on the nearby Jonah Field. In Boulder, The Conservation Fund, JIO and Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust placed over 2,000 acres on MJ Ranch under an easement last fall.
While the view at times along I-80 in Carbon County is limited to taillights in a blinding snowstorm, on clear days one is treated to sweeping views of the majestic Elk Mountain, flanked by montane forests, steep sagebrush and aspen-covered slopes, sweeping hay fields and lush riparian bottoms. What are conspicuously absent from this scene are residential subdivisions. Now, a substantial portion of these open and productive lands around Elk Mountain will be protected in perpetuity through conservation easements. In December of 2008, WSGALT received three donated conservation easements totaling 22,509 acres on the McKee Ranch, Basin Ranch, and Vickers Complex to the east and south of Elk Mountain. An additional 21,000+ acres are protected on the Elk Mountain Ranch through a previous donation to the Nature Conservancy. The conservation easements on these properties represent a monumental commitment to the future of the working landscapes and habitats that make southern Wyoming a special place to live and work. Says Dr. Fred Eshelman, landowner, “Ranch lands are vital to preserving open space and view sheds for future generations…..Continued agricultural operations and conserving the ranch lands for wildlife are a primary goal.” Not only do the properties contain productive cattle and hay operations that support agricultural industry and employment; they also provide highly important habitat features from extensive riparian bottoms to aspen and mixed-conifer forests. The properties are located on or near migration corridors for elk, mule deer, and pronghorn antelope. The Basin Ranch and McKee Ranch properties are currently in a cooperative Hunter Management Area program with the Wyoming Game & Fish, and the McKee Ranch borders the Wick Brothers Game Management Unit. James Rinehart, a realtor from Western United Realty in Laramie, was instrumental in facilitating the purchase and eventual conservation of the properties. According to Rinehart, “In 18 years of focusing on ranch brokerage, we have done what we can to insure that the ranches are not sold to developers…..The majority of ranches sold, those that we sell in particular, are not subdivided and oftentimes have conservation easements placed on them. While it is indeed disappointing to see the landscape of ownership change and the neighbors change, ranches will continue to be sold and purchased. If we can do a small part in continuing agriculture in the area and conservation of the vital open space ranching provides, we will successfully keep a focus on the conservation aspect of the business for generations to come.” The Elk Mountain area embodies the open and diverse habitat and agricultural attributes people value and hold dear in Wyoming. Thanks to the broad conservation vision of a landowner and the work of many dedicated ag-land conservationists, the landscape that people gaze upon (weather permitting) as they make their way across this wonderful part of the state will remain open and productive for whatever the future may bring.
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