600 acres conserved in Sublette County, Wyoming

The Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust, in partnership with Mark and Renee Jones, placed a conservation easement on 600 acres of the MJ Ranch near Boulder, Wyoming, on Aug. 11. This conservation easement will protect exceptional wildlife values on a property that provides habitat for mule deer, pronghorn antelope, greater sage-grouse, and other migratory avian species.

The property is within greater sage-grouse core area and is near the Sublette Mule Deer Migration Corridor.

The conservation easement will ensure that the property remains undeveloped, protecting agricultural uses, scenic values and wildlife habitat. Maintaining these conservation values is important as rural residential development pressure increases in the East Fork River Valley. The Jones family was intent on conserving this part of their ranch to ensure that future generations are able to use the property for agriculture.

The purchase of this conservation easement was funded by the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust and the Natural Resource Conservation Service. The Stock Growers Land Trust deeply appreciates the continued partnership of the WWNRT and NRCS.

“Conserving this portion of the MJ Ranch is significant. It builds upon previous conservation work in Sublette County, adding to the preservation of agricultural lands and important wildlife habitats for the future,” Jessica Crowder, Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust Executive Director commented on the closing. “We appreciate the partnership of the Jones family, the WWNRT, and the NRCS in this important work.”

This conservation easement is adjacent to the 2,054-acre conservation easement on the MJ Ranch that was completed in 2008 in partnership with The Conservation Fund. With the completion of this project, WSGLT now holds 285,700 acres of conservation easements statewide with 72,700 of those acres in Sublette County.