Keeping Wyoming, Wyoming

Haley J. Clark
Nov 8, 2022
2 min read

We are lucky in Sublette County to enjoy open spaces no matter where we are. Even in town, you are not far away from mountain vistas that sit high above the meadows and sagebrush steppes we love so much. The value of this land holds more than just monetary worth here too. For this, we are very thankful.

I’ve worked with the Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust (WSGLT) in various ways during my time with Wyoming Stock Growers Association (WSGA) in 2013, and the work they have done before and since then has conserved 78,500 acres in Sublette County alone. Sixteen families have seen the value of preserving their land for future generations. I’m thankful that I’m not the only one who understands the importance of open lands and while I may not be an easement holder myself, I still reap the benefits. Protecting prime wildlife habitats, keeping our rural heritage intact, and ensuring land use in the future gives me hope that other people want to keep our land open for years to come.

“Ranchers are the original conservationist.”

I heard this quote when I worked with WSGA and now as a future generation on the ranch, I can attest that without the land, we have nothing. We rely heavily on the health of the land to make a livelihood and conservation easements are a tool to keep that legacy alive for many. As a child, I remember, our neighboring ranch being sold. There was talk of 40-acre plots being put in across the fence where our main pasture lays – where we calve, irrigate, hay, and wean in the fall. The land we knew was about to change but between a high price tag and lack of interest, it sold again, this time into a local family that soon put it into an easement. While it may not be suitable for every operation or land owner, it keeps the land as close to its original state as possible. Once a property is subdivided, it has lost its significance as open land and as a means for our rural community to survive current and future.

I urge you to consider joining the conversation on Wednesday, November 16th at the Sublette County Public Library in Pinedale from 5:30 – 7:30 pm to ask questions and get more information about conservation easements from the Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust. They are eager to answer your questions!