Lander, WY—February 6, 2001—Brad and Mary Ann Eastman announced the purchase of their MJ Ranch near Dubois by The Nature Conservancy on Tuesday. The purchase will help the Eastman's achieve their goal of keeping the ranch intact while protecting the significant wildlife habitat on the property.

The MJ Ranch, consisting of nearly 2500 acres, is a working cattle operation located 6 miles east of Dubois along Highway 26. The Ranch offers scenic views of open agricultural land along the highway, and provides important natural habitat for a wide variety of wildlife, specifically including critical winter range for mule deer.

The Eastman's are no strangers to the Conservancy, protecting over 1800 acres of their ranch with a conservation easement in May of 1994. Brad and Mary Ann felt that protecting the entire ranch was the "right" thing to do.

Brad said, "We preferred not to see the ranch developed in a way that would hurt the wildlife. We don't want to see the habitat fragmented." Mule deer should be pleased; The Wyoming Game and Fish said that the property is an essential piece in maintaining the winter range for the Dubois area mule deer herd. Hunting revenues to local businesses provide a significant boost to the areas businesses and economy.

Early last year Brad approached the Conservancy about purchasing the ranch. A plan was launched that allowed the Eastman's to offer a bargain sale to the Conservancy and to ensure the important wildlife habitat remain intact. Brad noted that the economics of cattle ranching on leased ground with predators prompted him to sell the ranch. Mary Ann noted that the economics of ranching has changed in the last few years.

According to Dave Neary, State Director of The Nature Conservancy, "The ranch was purchased to help maintain a piece of the ecologically important Upper Wind River Valley. The MJ Ranch has a lot of what makes Wyoming special - productive ranchlands that support critical wildlife habitat."

The MJ Ranch will become part of the newly configured Ramshorn Ranch operation, including the upper Winchester Ranch purchased by the Conservancy in October of last year. It will be managed as a working cattle operation. The Conservancy plans to resell the combined property to a "conservation buyer" - someone willing to donate a conservation easement on the entire property to limit subdivision and conserve the ecological values of the Upper Wind River Valley.

Brad and Mary Ann will stay on the ranch for now, eventually settling at their home ranch in Crowheart. They have agreed to manage the new cattle operation under a management agreement with the Conservancy. Seeing the ranch continue with its historic use was important to the Eastman's, along with maintaining the western culture of the Upper Wind River Valley.

Wyoming's private and public lands contain some of the best remaining natural areas in the West, supporting a wide variety of plants and animals, including deer, sheep, elk, waterfowl, raptors and songbirds. With development encroaching on more of Wyoming's beautiful landscapes, more and more ranches and landowners throughout the state are working successfully with the Conservancy to maintain the land they love.