Wyoming

Home to one of the nation’s most popular national parks and some of the best fishing in the Western United States, Wyoming’s status as a top recreation destination is on the rise. With a record of more than 110,000 acres protected across the state, the Fund and its partners are ensuring that the state’s magnificent natural areas and the wildlife populations they support will continue to thrive for future generations of visitors to enjoy.

Cottonwood Ranches Conservation Project

The Fund, along with the Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust, worked with the Botur family for three years to complete conservation easements on more than 4,600 acres of their working cattle ranch, the Cottonwood Ranches. The project represents the first use of Jonah Interagency Office (JIO) oil and gas mitigation funds for permanent land conservation. The conservation easements protect prime riparian habitat, critical for the sage grouse, to aid in the mitigation of oil and gas impacts in Wyoming. Read more>

Gooseberry Creek Conservation Project

The Gooseberry Creek Conservation Project is among the first large scale watershed-based voluntary conservation initiatives in Wyoming and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. 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. Read more>

North Platte River

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. Read more>

Upper Green River Valley Initiative

A swath of private ranchlands in the Upper Green River Valley is the best hope for conserving the region’s wildlife resources. That's why we are collaborating with ranchers to protect more than 150,000 acres that will preserve Wyoming’s unique wildlife habitat and traditional ranching economy. Read more>

Wind River Range

To preserve the incomparable views of the snow-capped mountains and essential wildlife habitat, the Fund partnered with several organizations to purchase a 33-acre inholding in the Bridger-Teton National Forest. Read more>

Wyoming Forest Legacy Program

The Forest Legacy Program, a voluntary program funded by the USDA Forest Service, works with state agencies and local landowners to protect ecologically important forests that are threatened with conversion to non-forest uses. The Fund worked with state agencies to complete to complete the Wyoming Forest Legacy Program Assessment of Need, now available for download. Read more>