None The Nature Conservancy in Wyoming Press Releases Search All Press Releases Kerry Brophy-Lloyd phone: 307-335-2135 email: kbrophy@tnc.org

New Grant Battles Weeds in the Shirley Basin Grasslands

Hanna, WY— September 5, 2007— The Medicine Bow Conservation District will receive a $35,000 grant to help fund private lands conservation programs that fight invasive weeds in Wyoming’s Shirley Basin. The new grant, donated by The Nature Conservancy in Wyoming, will be presented at the district’s annual Education Days in Hanna, Wyo. on September 6.

The grant will help the Medicine Bow Conservation District battle non-native plants in the Shirley Basin, where invasive species are increasing on the landscape, decreasing habitat quality for wildlife, threatening rare plants, and reducing forage for livestock.

Working on Weeds
A full-time natural resource coordinator position and weed-fighting equipment are included in the new grant. Other directly-supported projects will implement four weed management plans, map weeds and vegetation communities, and identify vegetation treatment areas in antelope and sage grouse habitat. 

“Having a new full-time position in the district will take things to the next level,” says John Johnson, Chairman of Supervisors for the Medicine Bow Conservation District. “We’re excited to be working with The Nature Conservancy. Their level of commitment to conservation in our district has gone beyond what we expected.”

On-the-ground Conservation
Dominated by mixed-grass prairie, the Shirley Basin Grasslands are among the most intact native grasslands left on the planet. But the area’s high biological diversity is slowly being eroded by exotic invaders. Tamarisk, pepperweed, spotted knapweed, and Canada thistle are among the most prominent weeds that landowners in the basin have to deal with. Tackling weeds can be difficult across the basin’s large, remote area.

“We’re looking to work with groups that are already doing good conservation work on the ground,” says Brent Lathrop, the Conservancy’s southeast Wyoming program director. “Our objective is to help improve habitat conditions in the Shirley Basin and at the same time keep ranching communities ranching. We saw this as a collaborative way to enhance and fast-forward good conservation on the ground with area landowners.”

The Medicine Bow Conservation District was founded in 1954 under the Department of Agriculture for the protection of Wyoming’s natural resources in the eastern half of Carbon County, Wyoming. Of the 1.5 million acres the district covers, 50% is privately owned. The district’s Board of Supervisors has five members, among them working ranchers, a teacher, and a supervisor of the County Weed and Pest board. In addition, four CRMs in the district have elected chairpersons who report to the supervisors annually.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.