Ranchers Unite to Save Land Near Zion National Park

Landowners Will Work with The Nature Conservancy to Protect Historic Ranches and Habitat

Salt Lake City, Utah—11 October 2005—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. 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.

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. Through the use of conservation easements, private lands will remain on the tax rolls and traditional land uses will continue. Once in place, the agreements are binding on all future landowners.

The ranchers, members of the Kanarra Mountain Landowners Association, have joined with The Nature Conservancy in an effort to protect their property. Many of the ranchers own and work land that has been in their families for multiple generations. The sheep and cattle ranch lands are situated in a majestic setting on Kanarra Mountain, near Cedar City, and adjacent to the Kolob section of Zion National Park.

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. Last spring's flooding in southwestern Utah highlighted the importance of proper watershed management, especially in the high country of the southern plateaus where flood waters begin.

“The Kanarra Mountain ranchers came together and approached the Conservancy with this project,” said Brad Barber, a representative for the Kanarra Mountain Landowners Association. “They care deeply about this land, and see it changing fast. They want to act now to ensure they can pass on their ranches and their way of life to future generations.”

The Kanarra Mountain area has supported a ranching lifestyle for more than 100 years, but its rural landscape is now under threat. Like so many places in our state, Washington County is changing. Cedar City and St. George, once sleepy communities that visitors sped through on their way to Las Vegas and Los Angeles, have become hotspots for Wasatch Front retirees. This growth is now spilling over into the appealing high plateau country above Zion, where summer home development is on the rise.

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.

“This is a great example of conservation from the ground up,” said Dave Livermore, The Nature Conservancy’s Utah State Director. “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.”

To close on these five options and to achieve the larger vision of conservation success on Kanarra Mountain, the Conservancy and the landowners will be working to establish additional partnerships, generate support and secure new federal and private funding sources. The Conservancy must raise $3.7 million in public and private funds to acquire the project’s first five easements. Over time, as much as $12 million may be needed to complete the entire Virgin River Headwaters Project and protect 11,000 acres.

To find out more or to contribute to this project, contact Alice Storm at (801) 531-0999 or astorm@tnc.org.

The mission of The Nature Conservancy is to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have protected more than 2 million acres in the United States and helped protect more than 80 million acres in the Americas, Asia and the Pacific. In Utah, The Nature Conservancy has completed over 140 conservation projects protecting nearly 900,000 acres of public and private land statewide.