The first time I met Freddie, he had just convinced his aging father to pull their family’s cattle ranch off the market. Listening to real estate developers talk about massive subdivisions on his pristine ranch as they passed miles of trout-filled Cottonwood Creek had become too much for him to bear. After much negotiating, he convinced his father that he could turn around the struggling ranch, and he was faced with the daunting task of managing the vast 75,000-acre spread.
Photo: Freddie Botur on Cottonwood Ranches
Freddie’s historic ranchland has some of the most important wildlife habitat in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. It is land that supports his cattle herd, but it is also home to large populations of moose, elk, mule deer, and pronghorn antelope. It’s a place with healthy populations of sage grouse, raptors, burrowing owls and approximately 65 species of concern in Wyoming.
I’ve been blessed to work with Freddie’s family over the past several years since he saved the ranch from subdivision. The Conservation Fund’s approach—building partnerships to conserve lands in an economically sustainable way— has made a truly symbiotic relationship possible. Working in concert with federal and state agencies, along with the Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust, our partnership has provided needed help to the ranch. Funds were used to install pipelines, replace antiquated headgates, build wildlife-friendly fence and encourage progressive grazing management that has benefited all species, including the cattle. In exchange, the public is now assured that the ranch will stay intact and be available for wildlife and agriculture forever.
The Conservation Fund’s work has freed Freddie to do what he loves—run the ranch. Freddie’s leadership has prompted neighboring ranchers to work with us to conserve their lands. What once looked like a bleak future is now bright for Cottonwood Creek and its wildlife and ranching heritage.
From public lands, like national parks, to wild havens that support migrating wildlife, to the sprawling ranches that have come to define the west, we've worked to save the many different landscapes that make up Wyoming. Click through our gallery to learn about our work in this great state.
The Conservation Fund and a host of partners launched the Upper Green River Valley Initiative in 2008 to conserve and enhance key wildlife habitat and agricultural lands in the region. To date, we have worked with numerous public and private partners to conserve nearly 20,000 acres of private land and enhance more than 90,000 acres of public lands, including key migration routes, miles of river frontage, sage grouse habitat and crucial winter range for moose, elk, mule deer and pronghorn.
Flanked by the Wyoming and Wind River Ranges, the Upper Green River Valley forms the southern core of the world’s most intact temperate ecosystem—the Greater Yellowstone. For over 7,000 years, Pronghorn antelope, elk, Shiras moose, and mule deer have navigated the Valley’s unique topography every season. The Valley is home to the “Path of the Pronghorn,” the longest land mammal migration in the continental United States, stretching from Grand Teton National Park south to winter range in the Red Desert, a distance of over 200 miles. Yet due to its unparalleled natural resources, the Valley and its wildlife are now in peril.
For generations, traditional, large-scale family ranches have comprised most of the Green River Valley’s private lands, sharing the natural wealth with the species that migrate across the landscape’s ancient pathways. But the Valley also sits atop two of the nation’s highest-producing natural gas fields and is threatened with the full trappings of resource development—roads, well pads, power lines and residential subdivisions.
A swath of wide-open private ranchlands in the Valley is the best hope for conserving the region’s rich wildlife resources. As part of the Upper Green River Valley Initiative, ranchers are collaborating with the Fund, public and private partners, and community leaders to protect and enhance more than 150,000 acres and preserve Wyoming’s unique wildlife habitat and traditional ranching economy. These ranches have been selected for their top wildlife habitat and include some of the most important bottlenecks on the “Path of the Pronghorn” and critical sage grouse habitat.
McNeel Ranch: The McNeel family ranch property, located near Daniel, Wyoming, contains two active breeding grounds for the sage grouse and an established antelope migration corridor. It also provides crucial winter range for mule deer and important yearlong habitat for elk, moose and more than 60 of Wyoming’s Species of Greatest Conservation Need.
The Conservation Fund negotiated the terms and the purchase of an easement with Bob McNeel and Eva and Lee Kelly, the family that owns and operates the ranch. “This great partnership with Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust and the Jonah Interagency Office fosters a greater understanding and cooperation between agricultural and conservation communities,” said Luke Lynch, Wyoming state director for The Conservation Fund. “We’ve covered so much ground together in the past few years and have made a real difference in the habitat quality of the Upper Green River Valley, while at the same time preserving Wyoming’s strong legacy of family ranching.” (Read the news release for more information about all of the partners that made this project possible.)
Photo: Calljohn1/Flickr (all rights reserved)
Carney Ranch (CRC Ranch): Carney Ranch forms the most important piece of the Path of the Pronghorn’s “Funnel Bottleneck” for pronghorn antelope migrating from as far north as Grand Teton National Park. The property features the only bottleneck occurring on private lands—and the most vulnerable.
In 2010, the Fund announced the completion of a conservation easement that protects the northernmost 2,400 acres of Carney Ranch, located at the head of the Upper Green River Valley in Sublette County, by preventing future development of the land and ensuring its sound management. We purchased the easement from the Carney family, which will continue to own the land and operate it as a working ranch as it has since 1963.
“This project protects the pronghorn and a working cattle ranch—two icons of the American West,” said Luke Lynch, Wyoming state director for The Conservation Fund. “The Carney Ranch and the entire Upper Green River Valley boast some of the highest quality habitat and open space in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, and we thank the numerous partners for continuing to support the conservation of this important landscape for future generations. The Carney family made a significant donation to make this possible—we applaud the three generations of family members for their major commitment to conservation.”
The Conservation Fund purchased the easement using funding from the Acres for America program, a partnership established between Walmart Stores, Inc. and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Jonah Interagency Office (JIO), Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative, the Wyoming Wildlife & Natural Resources Trust and The Nature Conservancy, through a grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, provided additional funding for the easement. In addition, the landowners made a significant donation to the project.
MJ Ranch: The Conservation Fund led the effort, in collaboration with several public and private partners, to complete the largest purchased conservation easement in the Green River valley of Wyoming. The easement protects more than 2,000 acres of a family-owned working ranch, known as the MJ Ranch, located southeast of Boulder.
The easement protects sagebrush grassland habitat ideal for a variety of wildlife, including sage grouse, pronghorn antelope, burrowing owl, mountain plover, pygmy rabbit, sage sparrow and white-tailed prairie dog. The ranch also borders critical moose winter habitat along the East Fork River.
The Jonah Interagency Mitigation and Reclamation Office (JIO), established to mitigate impacts of oil and gas development on the nearby Jonah Field, along with the Wyoming Game & Fish Department identified the MJ Ranch as a top conservation priority.
The Fund pioneered the use of JIO oil and gas mitigation funds for land conservation earlier this year with the purchase of a conservation easement on more than 1,000 acres of a working ranch near Daniel known as the Cottonwood Ranches.
Cottonwood Ranches: The Cottonwood Ranches controls a contiguous block of 90,000 acres extending from the Wyoming Range in the west to the Green River along Cottonwood Creek. This large, working cattle ranch provides high quality, year-round wildlife habitat for Shiras Moose, mule deer, pronghorn antelope, sage grouse, and many migratory bird species. The first two phases of this project were completed in 2008 and 2009, and protected over 2,800 acres of deeded land and are enhancing approximately 30,000 acres of adjacent public land. A third phase was completed in June of 2010, protecting an additional 1,800 acres, including over 8 miles of Cottonwood Creek frontage.
Click here to learn more about our work at Cottonwood Ranches
The Gooseberry Creek Conservation Project is among the first large scale watershed-based voluntary conservation initiatives in Wyoming and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The Project seeks to permanently protect 34,552 acres of deeded land including 65 miles of Gooseberry Creek, which are associated with 220,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management and State of Wyoming leased lands. The Conservation Fund is partnering with several local landowners, the Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust (WSGALT), the Natural Resource Conservation Service, and the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust Fund, to complete phased acquisitions of several adjoining conservation easements to protect this important resource.
Yellowstone National Park and surrounding National Forest lands are considered the largest functioning ecosystem in the lower forty-eight states. The properties are located in the foothill-basin transition zone, one of the most environmentally diverse habitats in the inter-montane basin region of Wyoming. These lands provide winter range for elk, mule deer, moose, and antelope, which utilize adjacent and nearby public lands for summer and transitional range.
Private lands encompass a riparian corridor bordered by BLM lands and serve as the main water source and breeding habitat for local ungulates, small mammals, and a diverse mix of resident and migratory birds. The properties form an interconnected mosaic of lands in the southeastern corner of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
The Project was initiated by five long-time working ranch families. The first acquisition of a conservation easement was completed on the 654-acre Barnett Ranch along Gooseberry Creek in 2005. Phase two of the project was completed in August of 2007, and permanently conserved 4,064 acres of neighboring land along Gooseberry Creek owned by three long-time ranch families.
As part of an effort to provide additional recreational access along the North Platte River in southeastern Wyoming, The Conservation Fund worked with its partners to protect 275 acres along the famed Gray Reef reach, including over three-fourths of a mile of river frontage.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of visitors flock to the stretches of the North Platte to experience beautiful scenery and some of the best fishing for rainbow, brown and cutthroat trout in the country. The 30-mile Gray Reef stretch is hailed as of one of the most productive passages of the North Platte River and considered by many to be the number one trout fishing destination in the lower 48 states.
The Conservation Fund worked collaboratively with the Bureau of Land Management and the Wyoming Game & Fish Department to acquire this property and open it to walk-in public recreational access. This project was made possible with the support of the Wyoming Congressional delegation, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, the Natrona County Commissioners, the Wyoming Fly Casters, Trout Unlimited, and individual sportsmen.
View the news release »
Wind River Range at sunset/Photo: gmiphone/Flickr
Towering above Jackson Hole, the jagged peaks of the Grand Tetons are a stirring sight. Together with our partners, we work to preserve the incomparable views of the snow-capped mountains and to protect essential wildlife habitat in the region.
In an effort to ensure continued public access to the Wind River Mountain Range, The Fund and the USDA Forest Service, with key support from the Wyoming congressional delegation, protected an important 40-acre inholding within the Bridger-Teton National Forest in 2009.
Several years ago, the USDA Forest Service identified this property as a top priorty for acquisition. They asked The Fund for assistance and we purchased the land in order to give the USDA Forest Service time to put funding in place so they could acquire it and incorporate it into the national forest.
Located on the west side of the Wind River Mountains, north of Pinedale, Wyoming, the property sits just outside the 428,000-acre Bridger Wilderness and is completely surrounded by public land. The Bridger Wilderness combines with the Fitzpatrick and Popo Agie wilderness areas to form one of the largest and most popular wilderness complexes in the United States.
The property gives the public access to a network of trails leading to the Bridger Wilderness in the foothills of the Wind River Range and is vital to the continuation of hiking, hunting, camping and other outdoor recreational activities in the area.
Elk, mule deer, moose and other species also benefit from the protection of this land, as it provides a migration route for elk moving to the Soda Lake feed ground, summer habitat for moose and transitional range for mule deer. A tributary of Willow Creek and the Green River crosses a portion of the property, producing important wetland habitat.
This land adds to the 33-acres of park land previously protected by The Fund in collaboration with the National Park Service, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and a private landowner.
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