Over the next few years, we will be highlighting each of our conservation easements, leading up to our 25th anniversary in 2025! We are kicking things off with a look at our first easement and a brief history behind the creation of the Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust.
The Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust received its first conservation easement in late December of 2001 on 400 acres of land bordering the North Platte River near Saratoga. The conservation easement was donated by Sheep Rock Ranch, courtesy of the Glode Family. The easement hosts greater sage-grouse core area, mule deer crucial range, and wetlands. This first conservation easement demonstrated the importance of preserving land not only for its conservation values, but also recognizing its agricultural values. Our partnership with the Glodes to conserve their land set a positive tone for work in the rest of the state, encouraging other landowners to utilize conservation as a tool to ensure their land stays in production.
The Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust was founded by a general membership vote of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association in December 2000. Our establishment was based on a growing need within the ranching community to provide voluntary, private-sector options for agricultural land conservation.
The Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust is dedicated to conserving Wyoming’s working agricultural lands, which also provide open space, wildlife habitat, and other environmental benefits for future generations.
