Protecting large, intact landscapes is one of the most effective ways to address biodiversity loss in the American West—especially in the rangelands and grasslands of the Sagebrush Sea, where wildlife habitat, ranching traditions and open space remain deeply interconnected.
In northwestern Utah, that work advanced as The Nature Conservancy completed two conservation easements protecting more than 3,700 acres in Box Elder County. Together with earlier projects, TNC has now secured nearly 14,000 acres within one of Utah’s most important sagebrush landscapes.
By protecting strategically located properties, conservation easements help preserve migration corridors, sustain working lands and strengthen the resilience of entire ecosystems.
Box Elder County contains some of Utah’s best remaining habitat for greater sage-grouse, the iconic bird whose elaborate spring mating displays have become a symbol of the Sagebrush Sea itself. More than a third of the county has been identified by state and federal wildlife agencies as especially important to the bird’s long-term survival because of the quality and connectedness of its sagebrush habitat.
Much of that landscape is federally managed, but the private lands woven through it are equally important to help maintain habitat continuity to support seasonal wildlife movement and reduce the risk of future fragmentation from subdivision or development. That is where conservation easements play a critical role.
A conservation easement is a voluntary agreement between a landowner and a conservation organization that permanently limits certain types of development while keeping the land in private ownership. The land remains a working ranch and can be sold or passed to future generations while continuing to support agricultural use. In landscapes like the Sagebrush Sea, easements help ensure that intact habitat stays intact while also giving landowners flexibility and financial compensation.
“Projects like this take patience, trust and a shared understanding that conservation works best when landowners are full partners in the outcome,” says TNC’s Elaine York, who led the work on these easements.
The two newly protected properties—owned by the Kunzler family and Spackman family—both include sage-grouse leks, the traditional breeding grounds where males gather each spring to fan their tail feathers, inflate their chests and compete for mates. Both properties also contain high-quality brood-rearing habitat, which is especially important for young birds after hatching. These seasonal habitat needs are one reason large-scale protection matters: sage-grouse depend on broad, connected landscapes rather than isolated patches of habitat.
One of the new easements involves land owned and operated by the Kunzler family, whose ranch has been in the family since Will Kunzler’s great-grandfather homesteaded there. Today the operation remains a multi-generational family effort involving Will, his parents, siblings and extended family.
“We’re trying to keep this going family to family and like to see it free from development and used for what it was intended for, for wildlife or for livestock,” says Kunzler. “When we realized we could receive compensation and still be able to graze it and keep it intact, we really liked that.”
Grazing continues on both easement properties during parts of the year. That compatibility is important because well-managed grazing can support healthy sagebrush systems by helping maintain plant diversity and reducing conditions that can worsen wildfire risk. Across the West, TNC’s Sagebrush Sea Program works with ranching families to show that productive agricultural lands and wildlife habitat can thrive together.
The Sagebrush Sea stretches across 13 western states and supports thousands of species, from mule deer and pronghorn to Brewer’s sparrows and pygmy rabbits. More than 350 species depend on this unique ecosystem and are threatened, rare or endangered. Yet despite its ecological importance, it remains one of North America’s least understood large landscapes. Its wide-open appearance can obscure how biologically rich—and increasingly vulnerable—it is.
Large Landscape Protection is one of the four core pillars of TNC’s Sagebrush Sea Program because safeguarding intact private lands remains one of the most durable tools available for conservation at scale. By protecting strategically located properties, conservation easements help preserve migration corridors, sustain working lands and strengthen the resilience of entire ecosystems. Learn more about the broader Sagebrush Sea Program.
For families like the Kunzlers and Spackmans, that broader conservation goal is deeply tied to everyday experience on the land.
“It’s a pretty secluded area and that’s what we like about it,” says Kunzler. “It’s peaceful and tranquil . . . and you’ve got meadows. You just have to be here to appreciate it.”
We are grateful to ranching families like the Kunzlers and Spackmans who recognize the beauty and value of the Sagebrush Sea and are willing to be part of its preservation. We are also grateful to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation whose support—through funds from the National Mitigation and Conservation Account—made these easements possible.
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