Cheyenne Veterinarian Donates Albany County Conservation Easement

Lander, WY—January 13, 2006—Dr. Jean Cotton, a retired area veterinarian, and daughters Katie and Ruth have donated a conservation easement on over 600 acres in Albany County to The Nature Conservancy. The property adjoins another property previously conserved by the McGuire family, bringing the total acreage under conservation easement in the “Turtle Rocks/Pine Buttes" Conservation Area to almost 3,700.

The Cotton property contains fairly steep hillsides which rise to an elevation of 8,000 feet from Gilmore Gulch, 400-feet below. Mountain mahogany covers the shrub wooded hillsides with scattered limber pine. The tops of the hills are composed of shallow soils, sparsely vegetated with cushion plants while the bottomlands are primarily grasses.

The conservation easement limits development of the property to one five-acre building envelope on the entire 600-acre property which can be subdivided into only two parcels. As with all other conservation easements held by The Nature Conservancy, the agreement supports the continued use of the property for ranching.

Of the 85,792 acres included in the Conservancy’s Turtle Rock/Red Buttes Conservation Area, only 30 percent of the land is owned privately. The area contains excellent examples of lower montane-foothills shrubland and provides crucial year-long and winter habitat for mule deer. It also offers important habitat for raptors and migratory songbirds.

Protecting biological diversity is the mission of The Nature Conservancy which works with willing landowners to preserve areas of crucial range, migration corridors and breeding grounds. Through the use of a number of conservation tools, including conservation easements, land management agreements and a unique conservation buyer program, the Conservancy works to protect special properties and the habitat and wildlife they support.

“Landowners like Dr. Cotton are important partners in conservation,” said Paula Hunker, Associate State Director for The Nature Conservancy. “We would not be able to engage in this important work without the support of those who want to protect these special places for future generations to enjoy as we have.”

Jean Cotton mirrored these sentiments, "I feel extremely grateful that the Cotton family was able to preserve this piece of property forever."