Wyoming landowners worked with The Nature Conservancy to protect the land they love from development in 2007. Here are some of these important gifts to conservation:

Alm Ranch
Northwest Wyoming’s largest donated easement in 2007 protects almost 4,600 acres on the Alm Ranch, located east of Hyattville on Paint Rock Creek, a major tributary of the Big Horn River. The working cattle ranch has crucial range for elk and mule deer.

Owners John and Carolyn Alm also run a camp on the ranch each summer called Camp Paintrock that hosts students from at-risk inner-city Los Angeles communities. John Alm says that was one reason they donated a conservation easement—to ensure the ranch remains for the kids to enjoy.

“The easement allows the land to be as it is in perpetuity, so these kids can enjoy it forever,” Alm says. “This is a special, undisturbed piece that hopefully can remain that way for others to explore and enjoy.”

In addition to the ungulate habitat, the Alm Ranch provides excellent shelter for many species of birds, including songbirds, raptors, and sage and blue grouse.  Many small and large mammals make their home here including mountain lion, bobcat, coyote, rabbits, and fish species.   

Pitchfork Ranch
In 2007, the Pitchfork Ranch west of Meeteetse continued a long tradition of conservation by adding 2,540 acres of easements to an existing 10,790 acres already protected. One of the oldest ranches in Wyoming, the Pitchfork Ranch reached national fame when a population of black-footed ferrets was found there in 1981 after being presumed extinct.

The ranch sits within the Greybull River area on the east flank of the Greater Yellowstone region, with some of the most remote backcountry in the Greater Yellowstone. Along its 90-mile corridor, water travels from snow-capped peaks in the Absaroka Mountains to create one of the best Yellowstone cutthroat trout fisheries in the state.

“Conservation easements have been part of our overall plan for the ranch since we purchased it,” says ranch partner Greg Luce. “We wanted to have a vision for the ranch that involves a continuing ranching operation coupled with preserving open space in perpetuity.”

This area is a natural east-west migration route for moose, elk, mule deer and bighorn sheep moving from Yellowstone National Park, through the Absarokas, to their winter ranges in the Greybull River watershed.

Owl Creek Property
Landowners Steve and Patricia Tobi donated a 640-acre easement to The Nature Conservancy on the north side of the Owl Creek Mountains. The land lies along Owl Creek and reaches an elevation of over 10,000 feet. Boreal owl, boreal toad, leopard frog and grizzly bears are just some of the wildlife that inhabits the property. Steve Tobi says the land has a wide diversity of wildlife and that “every time we go up there we are surprised by new animal tracks.”

Tobi says the fact that his land borders public lands is one of the primary reasons he donated an easement. “We were hoping to keep a wide buffer between us and public areas,” says Tobi. “We feel that by protecting our land, we’re protecting an entire drainage, and it’s just nice to know that it won’t be developed further. Things have changed a lot over the years…people are developing land that wasn’t considered before. When we’re gone we just want to know that we’ve left something behind that’s protected.”

Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photos © Edward Orth (Pitchfork Ranch), © Scott Copeland (Mule deer)