SCLT awarded $1.13 million to conserve three working ranches in Sheridan County

The Sheridan Community Land Trust (SCLT) has been awarded $1.13 million from the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust (WWNRT) to permanently conserve three working ranches while protecting seven miles of rivers and creeks and crucial areas for mule deer and antelope.

“SCLT will use these funds to purchase conservation easements on three separate ranches, ensuring the properties will remain as open space and available for farming and ranching forever,” stated SCLT Conservation Director Meghan Kent.

She explained that once a family approaches SCLT about an interest in conserving their land, she works with the family to determine their needs and their land’s conservation value. These three properties, she said, vary in size, operations, and the natural areas they contain. These lands comprise a mix of open range, wetlands, and approximately seven miles of creeks and rivers, including two miles of the Tongue River and one mile of Big Goose Creek. Year-round, they also host antelope and mule deer, among many other animals and plants.

“We are excited to protect the special character of all three properties,” she remarked.

WWNRT selected these properties for their conservation value and ability to improve or protect wildlife habitat. WWNRT meets twice annually to review and approve conservation applications statewide. Before the award, Kent said, WWNRT representatives “visited each property with us to ensure that the property character merited the award.”

The award is a crucial step in conserving these lands. “The next steps are to work with each family to ensure that the terms of the conservation easement protect the values of the property and reflect their long-term wishes,” Kent explained.

The WWNRT grant is part of the mix of funding to purchase the conservation easement, with the families generously donating some of the value.

Kent stressed that the conservation easements do not grant public access and that SCLT does not share information about the easement holders. However, she would love to help more families in Sheridan County interested in conserving their land, whether for conserving open space, wildlife habitat, healthy rivers and creeks, helping to keep the family ranch ranching for the family – or all of those reasons.