• Wildlife—Farm and ranch land provides more than 70 percent of the habitat for America's wildlife;
• Scenic views and wide-open countryside—Well-managed farm and ranch land protects soil and water. Farmland loss has visible environmental impacts
• Access to fresh local foods—86 percent of our fruits and vegetables and 63 percent of our dairy products grown in this country are produced on urban-edge farms threatened by sprawl;
• Millions of jobs both on the land and in secondary services; and
• Down-to-earth values and farming character of our rural communities. America was born a farming nation and farms help define our cultural heritage.

Today's rancher is an expert in many areas, including genetics, nutrition, business, marketing and mechanical repair. Many ranchers have college degrees.

Ranchers and their families have strong ties to their local communities. Bankers, accountants, feed suppliers, veterinarians, milk testers, equipment retailers, feed mills and milk haulers all work in agriculture in Sublette County. Manufacturing, marketing and distribution of beef products employ a whole other segment of the community.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service reports that between 1997 and 2001, 2.2 million acres were lost to development each year (2001 Annual Natural Resources Inventory). The LTA land trust census reports that from 1998 to 2003, local and regional land trusts conserved open space at a rate of about 800,000 acres per year. Many of the nation’s land trusts were formed to address this problem – working with landowners to conserve our precious landscapes before they are lost forever to development. However, whether to develop or conserve a particular parcel of land is a complex decision that depends on many criteria and local concerns.

Sublette County’s scenic vistas and wide-open ranchland provide some of the most unique, beautiful views in the country. As a habitat for deer, elk and antelope, Sublette County’s ranchland provides a significant value to both the rancher and to the general public.

For Sublette County’s residents, the quality of life here is quickly beginning to change. As the rest of the world begins to discover the natural beauty of the area, more and more second homes are being constructed, consuming large amounts of ranchland and other open spaces. In the past ten years, the population of Colorado has grown 2.8 percent while Wyoming’s population has grown 1.3 percent—but Wyoming has consumed the same amount of agricultural land as Colorado. The lands that form “Big Wyoming” seem to be shrinking as this residential development eats up large parcels of land.

A recent study by American Farmland Trust found that if Wyoming does not act now to create smart growth policies that help to stall this land loss, over 2.5 million acres of ecologically, economically and culturally important ranchlands could be lost to development by the year 2020.

The study determined that Sublette County risks losing 336,000 acres of strategic ranchland by 2020 to subdivision.

Please note that a land trust must be selective in choosing land-saving projects. Unless the land trust exercises care in choosing its projects, it may find itself stuck with a property or a conservation easement that serves little public interest, is very costly to manage, or does not really fit with the land trust's purposes. A land trust that does not carefully select its projects may open itself to public criticism, credibility problems and even legal problems.

The the GRVLT’s ability to offer a conservation alternative to the sale or development of ranchland is crucial to the future of agriculture in Sublette County. Thanks to the foresight and generosity of landowners, the the GRVLT has been able to work with nearly 40 families to conserve nearly 24,000 acres of ranchland, which is now permanently protected from subdivision and non-agricultural development.

Keeping The Range in Range Science

An Address Presented to the University of Wyoming's Range Club at their 2009 Annual Banquet

Nearly half of Wyoming’s land is privately owned and more than 90% of that is in agriculture. That’s important: Private ag land shapes our values, grounds our heritage, and binds our communities together; it provides wildlife habitat, clean air and water, and postcard views; and it contributes significant dollars to our state’s economy. Polls show that the loss of working family farms and ranches is Wyoming voter’s number one conservation concern. Put simply, ag land makes Wyoming “Wyoming.”

Wyoming loses significant private ag land to development each year. Between 1998 and 2006, developers subdivided more than 100,000 acres in the state. Going forward, experts predict that Wyoming could lose 2.6 million acres of prime ranchland to development in the next 10 years.

A number of “supply” and “demand” factors drive this loss. On the supply side, Wyoming stands to lose private ag land due to agriculture’s limited profitability, the effects of estate taxes, a lack of young people entering the field, increasing land values, continued uncertainty about livestock grazing on federal lands, and aging agricultural operators. Ask yourselves what happens to the 7.7 million acres of Wyoming ag land managed by operators 65 years or older when they retire or pass away?

On the demand side, increasing population makes the difference. In 2008, Wyoming was the 7th fastest growing state in the nation, with more than 9,400 people moving here for available jobs and (perhaps ironically) amenities like open space and beautiful views. Sublette County was the fastest-growing county in the state during the same period, and has grown more than 42% since 2000. New people need new homes and new homes need more land.

Loss of private ag land carries a number of adverse consequences. First, it leads to increased costs for community services like law enforcement, fire protection and road maintenance. A 2001 UW study found that the average cost of community services for Wyoming ag lands was $0.54 for every $1 of revenue raised. For rural residential lands, the cost was $2 for every $1 of revenue raised.

Loss of private ag land fragments critical wildlife habitat and migration routes. According to the 2008 State of the Space report published by UW’s Institute for Environment and Natural Resources, private ag land “plays a vital role in maintaining wildlife habitat in Wyoming. Wyoming’s wildlife is an important asset to residents and visitors, providing pleasure for viewing, hunting and fishing, and generating millions of dollars for the state’s economy. Wildlife generally does not recognize the boundaries of human society as animals move among private, state, tribal and federal lands. These movements occur in yearly, seasonal and daily patterns. Animals that inhabit or migrate through public lands during the summer and autumn, especially in areas of high elevation, are often found on lower elevation private lands during the winter. Private lands often include bottomlands along rivers and other areas that are important for wildlife habitats, especially in the winter… The mix, availability, and quality of seasonal ranges, both private and public, are critically important to big game herd size and viability.”

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the loss of private ag land means less “range” for “range science.” Private land is the “base property” for public land grazing permits and provides winter range for livestock that trail through BLM to Forest Service allotments and back again each year. The loss of private ag land means the loss of that land’s associated public grazing permits and an increased likelihood that the ranching community could lose the ability to lease that forage.

So does all this mean we should roll up our transect lines and start flipping burgers? Not quite.

Land trusts like ours work with ranchers and other private landowners to stem the loss of Wyoming’s private ag land and conserve its resources forever.

“Land trusts” are private, nonprofit organizations that steward the agricultural viability, wildlife habitat and scenic views of their conserved properties for the public to enjoy in perpetuity.

More than 1,700 land trusts exist throughout the United States today. Together, they have conserved 37 million acres of the country’s agricultural and natural treasures.

Five land trusts serve Wyoming, including our organization, the Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust, The Nature Conservancy, the Jackson Hole Land Trust, and the Sheridan Community Land Trust. Each has a slightly different mission, but all exist to steward the natural resources that landowners entrust to us.

Our organization was founded 9 years ago by a group of ranchers, teachers and local business owners who wanted to provide landowners—particularly working ranchers—with a voluntary way to conserve their land and the wildlife habitat and agricultural heritage it provides.

To date, we have worked with more than 40 families to conserve nearly 24,000 acres of working ranchland, wildlife habitat and scenic views in Sublette County. These landowners—young, old, natives and newcomers—have helped our organization become one of the top 100 land trusts in the country in terms of acreage conserved.

We’re also one of the first accredited land trusts in the country and the only accredited land trust in Wyoming. Accreditation recognizes organizations like ours for meeting national standards for excellence, upholding the public trust and ensuring that conservation efforts are permanent.

Our organization exists to serve landowners. We’re not an advocacy group, and we’re not an environmental group. Our board and staff live and work in the communities we serve and use voluntary, market-based tools like conservation easements that respect private property rights and help landowners achieve their goals.

Conservation easements are voluntary legal agreements between landowners and land trusts like ours that restrict certain uses of the land to conserve its agricultural and natural values forever. They’re tools that landowners can use to keep their land available for agriculture; alleviate income and estate taxes; pass their ranch to children and grandchildren; curb residential subdivision and commercial development; preserve habitat for moose, antelope, elk, mule deer, fish, birds, and other wildlife; and maintain the beautiful views we all enjoy.

If you think of private property ownership as a bundle of rights—including the right to run livestock, build houses, limit access, or subdivide—conservation easements provide a way for landowners to exchange two big rights—the right to subdivide and the right to commercially develop—for tax benefits or cash. Each conservation easement is unique. There’s no minimum or maximum acreage, and an easement can cover all or just a portion of a property.

Except for the rights they expressly restrict (like the right to subdivide), conservation easements generally do not affect traditional uses of the land like ranching, hunting, and fishing. Landowners can reserve the right to build a certain number of future homes, sell the land, pass it to heirs, or use it as collateral for loans. Easements don’t have to be perpetual, but most are in order to qualify for federal income and estate tax benefits. Importantly, conservation easements do not require or allow public access unless the landowners wants them to.

We acquire conservation easements in one of two ways: We either accept them as charitable donations or purchase them from landowners like working ranchers who may not have the income against which to take a tax deduction. If a landowner donates an easement, he or she can deduct the easement’s value as a charitable gift on their federal income and estate taxes. If a landowner sells an easement, he or she can use the sale proceeds to improve their operation, retire debt, or invest for the future. Our organization works with every landowner to ensure that the conservation easement meets that landowner’s needs and goals.

We raise money to purchase easements from a variety of sources. Our last easement purchase involved everything from $5 and $10 gifts from community members to six-figure gifts from donors like the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust. We’ve worked with natural gas mitigation funds, federal funds like the NRCS Farm and Ranchland Protection Program, and charitable foundations like Doris Duke. Easement sellers play a role as well by selling their easements to us at a discount through a “bargain sale.” In a very real way, every gift matters.

Conservation easements offer a variety of benefits for landowners and communities. For landowners, they provide assurance that future generations will enjoy the land’s agricultural, scenic and wildlife values forever. For communities, easements provide a way to preserve their agricultural heritage, sustain working ranches, support local businesses, and maintain their quality of life.

Our easements don’t “lock land up.” They’re dynamic. They can be amended or terminated (though not easily), but we draft each one to properly balance certainty and flexibility.

Under our easements, landowners typically reserve the right to do most of the things you’d associate with private land ownership like grazing livestock and raising crops; constructing buildings, fences, and water improvements necessary for agriculture; selling, devising, giving or otherwise conveying the land to others subject to terms of the easement; controlling access; restoring or enhancing existing habitats by working with range scientists like you; and any and all other uses that aren’t specifically prohibited

Our easements give us the right to conserve and protect the property according to easements’ terms; monitor the property at least annually with proper advance notification to the landowner; and stop any violation of the easement and restore the property to its “pre-violation” condition (or as near to it as possible).

Once the easement’s in place, we begin a working relationship with the landowner to ensure that the easement meets their conservation objectives. We monitor the property annually, but leave day-to-day land management decisions to the landowner. Our annual visits foster good communication with the landowner and provide an opportunity to answer questions or respond to concerns.

Conservation easements “run with the land” and bind future owners. This has raised some debate about “ruling from the grave,” but consider this as we conclude:

Conservation easements give landowners, especially agricultural landowners, choices. The choice to work their land now and in the future instead of selling to a developer. The choice to shape how their communities grow. And the choice to continue providing the food and fiber that Wyoming and America need to stay strong. These choices are right for some and not for others. But they let landowners and their families plan for the future of their land together as best they can. To us, that beats doing nothing and letting others choose for you.