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Ranchers Unite to Save Kanarra Mountain Land in Southwestern Utah

October 25, 2005

Five ranchers in southwestern Utah have joined with The Nature Conservancy in an effort to protect the land on which their families have lived and worked for generations.

On October 11, The Nature Conservancy signed option agreements with the ranchers, members of the Kanarra Mountain Landowners Association, to purchase conservation easements on 2,423 acres of agricultural land and critical wildlife habitat adjacent to Zion National Park. The agreements are a key first step in the Virgin River Headwaters Project, which may eventually involve as many as 17 landowners and protect as much as 11,000 acres.

“This is a great example of conservation from the ground up,” said Dave Livermore, director of The Nature Conservancy in Utah. “By saving these critical lands and waters, we are realizing the vision of the Kanarra Mountain Landowners Association. If we act now, we have a chance to preserve this land the way the pioneers must have seen it — as a spectacular landscape with clear waters and abundant wildlife.”

The Nature Conservancy is now seeking public and private funds to purchase the conservation easements, which will protect the wildlife habitat and productive ranch land by preventing habitat fragmentation and development.

Along with traditional agricultural uses, the ranch lands support important wildlife habitat. Black bear, cougar, deer, elk, numerous raptor species and the northern flying squirrel all thrive in the aspen forests and oak shrublands of the Kanarra Mountain region. In addition, the Conservancy is eager to protect the area's watershed, which includes the headwaters of LaVerkin, Spring and Kanarra Creeks — major tributaries to the Virgin River.

Placing conservation easements on these five properties is just the first step in what The Nature Conservancy and landowners hope will evolve into a much larger vision for protecting the Kanarra Mountain area. Twelve other ranchers on Kanarra Mountain have expressed interest in working with the Conservancy to place easements on their properties. If successful, the project could protect up to 11,000 acres of land.

“I feel like we're preserving the future much the way our grandfather preserved the past,“ said Steve Sevy, speaking of his family's commitment to place an easement on their ranch through the Virgin River Headwaters Project.

For More Information:

• Where We Work: The Nature Conservancy in Utah
  Working with partners, local communities, and people like you, The Nature Conservancy has helped to protect nearly 900,000 acres of at-risk landscapes in Utah.
• How We Work: Conservation Easements
  Conservation easements are one of the most powerful, effective tools available for the permanent conservation of private lands in the United States.
• Press Release: Ranchers Unite to Save Land Near Zion National Park
  The Nature Conservancy has signed option agreements with five ranchers to purchase conservation easements on 2,423 acres of agricultural land and critical wildlife habitat in southwestern Utah, adjacent to Zion National Park.
• Archive of our Saves of the Week and Success Stories
  Read more about The Nature Conservancy's work to save the last great places on Earth.