Conservation easements in
Wyoming
WYOMING AT A GLANCE
239,956
35,425
5
2,619,520
acres under conservation easement
with The Nature Conservancy
acres under conservation
easement with other regional
and local land trusts
number of land trusts in Wyoming
Acres of ranchland at risk of
development
ABOUT CONSERVATION EASEMENTS
Conservation easements are one of the most powerful
and effective tools available for the conservation of
private lands. Their use has successfully protected
millions of acres of wildlife habitat and open space,
and hundreds of miles of rivers, all while keeping
property in private hands and generating significant
public benefits.
With a conservation easement in place on his family’s ranch, Stacey Scott continues to raise cattle and has introduced
holistic grazing practices. © TNC
Eagle Ridge Ranch, Casper Mountain
PUBLIC BENEFITS
- Protects wildlife habitat
for diverse species
- Maintains open space
- Buffers Jackson Canyon Eagles
Area of Critical Environmental
Concern
PRIVATE BENEFITS
- Birder’s paradise
- Helps keep ranch in the family
In 1981, Oliver and Deborah Scott donated
a conservation easement to The Nature
Conservancy on more than 8,561 acres of
their Eagle Ridge Ranch near Casper. The
Scotts’ donation ensured conservation of
important river and forest habitat used by
bald and golden eagles in Jackson Canyon
and the surrounding area. Oliver and
Deborah’s son, Stacey, now manages the
ranch to raise cattle. Stacey, an avid birder,
Often, some of the most ecologically significant
lands and waters in the country are those found in
rural and agricultural landscapes. Easements have
been instrumental in preserving these landscapes,
from family farms to working ranches and timberlands. Between 1992 and 1997, more than 11 million
acres of rural land in the United States were converted
to developed use – an area five times the size of
Yellowstone National Park. As people struggle to
keep family farms and ranches together in the face of
steep taxes and unpredictable markets, conservation
easements are often the tool of choice.
In Wyoming, conservation easements protect some
of the state’s most important wildlife habitat, those
private lands that buffer national parks and forests
and lie along rivers, lakes and streams. These privately
owned lands provide critical winter range, migration
routes and breeding grounds for Wyoming’s wild
creatures and protect our most important resources
for future generations.
values the ranch for its natural resources in addition to the economic benefits
Public benefits of conservation easements
provided to him and his family. He operates the ranch using holistic grazing
- Protect water quality
practices that benefit the land and his cattle. In addition to eagles, the ranch
- Conserve wildlife habitat
provides habitat for other raptors, songbirds, deer and other wildlife species.
“The conservation easement has had a very positive impact because
my children and future generations can continue ranching
without the fear of housing developments threatening
their livelihood.”
– Stacey Scott, rancher
- Preserve farmland, ranchland, timberland
- Maintain character of rural communities
- Buffer public lands
- Maintain landscapes for tourism
- Require less in public services, generate more in
local revenues
- Keep land in private hands and on the tax rolls
Ranchers Mike and Joyce Evans use solar energy to pump water for livestock on their fourthgeneration ranch. © TNC
An easement on the McGuire Ranch conserves important grassland habitat in the prairies of
southeast Wyoming. © TNC
McGuire Ranch, Turtle Rocks
Indian Rocks Ranch,
North Platte Valley
There’s a double arch carved by
the wind among the sandstone
- Maintains crucial habitat
for mule deer
outcrops on Dick and Kris
- Prevents subdivision
McGuire’s ranch. Etched into
- Maintains character of rural
the soft rocks or stained in axle
ranching community
grease are the names of many
PRIVATE BENEFITS
who traveled through this
- Keeps ranch intact
shortgrass prairie on the western
- Ensures continuation of
flank of the Laramie Range,
agricultural and recreational
use of property
some more than 150 years ago.
Migrating herds use the property
for winter range, and a large herd of pronghorn make it their home
year-round. But development pressure is beginning to push up
against the boundaries of the ranch. A new subdivision lies only a
mile from one of their fence lines. The McGuires don’t want to
see this part of Albany County broken up, so they’ve donated an
easement to the Conservancy to protect their land now and in the
future.
PUBLIC BENEFITS
Conservation work in
PUBLIC BENEFITS
Wyoming usually involves
- Protects wildlife habitat
ranch families who care deeply
- Keeps good stewards
on the land
about the lands and wildlife for
- Prevents subdivision along
which they are stewards. The
Spring Creek
Evans family wanted to establish
- Maintains character of rural
ranching community
a legacy of such stewardship to
- Protects water quality
benefit future generations. Joyce
Evans, whose great-grandfather
PRIVATE BENEFITS
established their family ranch
- Helps keep historic ranch
in the family
in the 1890s, said that placing
- Keeps ranch intact
a conservation easement on
their property was part of their
long-term estate planning, “to free future generations from
having to decide what to do with the ranch.” Spring Creek and
many of its tributaries water lush meadows, providing habitat
for numerous game and non-game animals, birds and fish. The
Evans family’s passion for their ranch and their way of life will
protect this important natural area for wildlife as well as for
many future generations.
here to consider placing an easement on their property.
“If you care about the land, this [a conservation ease-
It’s one way of helping this part of Wyoming
retain its character.”
ment] is a good way to protect it and preserve
your lifestyle.”
“I hope our example will cause other people around
– Dick McGuire, rancher
– Mike Evans, rancher
We use conservation easements because they are a cost-effective
and highly efficient conservation tool on private lands.
For more information about our work in Wyoming, please contact:
Andrea Erickson, Wyoming program,
The Nature Conservancy, (307) 332-2971
03/2005