Meet Jessica Crowder
July 22, 2022
New Partnership in Wyoming Rewards Landowners for Stewarding Wildlife Habitat
August 3, 2022Meet Brian Jensen
As the Assistant State Conservationist and Big Game Coordinator for Wyoming NRCS, Brian works to monitor and improve wildlife habitat. He shares how science has guided stragetic investments in private land conservation easements in Southwest Wyoming, as well as why this area is so special for critters like elk, pronghorn and mule deer.
Photo: Courtesy of Brian Jensen.
I don’t work day to day on easements in either of my roles, but I help the agency use the best available science to target the parts of the landscape where easement funding would be best used to conserve wildlife habitat and address areas with high development risk. Past and current research has certainly highlighted areas of the state that are more important for wildlife than others, and I work with the scientists to incorporate this information into our program guidance and prioritize funding.
With sage grouse, we're fortunate to have good data on lek locations, and we know a lot about that bird, the movements they make, and the proximity that they use. And so that's been a pretty easy targeting tool in the easement strategy. I think we've successfully used that in my agency and, I'd say, in Wyoming in general, to really jump on the idea of protecting the core habitat.
Now, we're using a similar approach with big game. Again, we have really good GPS collar data for a lot of big game herds in Wyoming and, in fact, the state has used that data in some situations to formally designate specific migration corridors. There are others that haven't been formally designated, but we know they're important areas for these animals. And so we've taken that data and incorporated it into our ranking of habitats to prioritize funding for easements in and near those important corridors that have been identified.
Specifically in the Upper Green River and in Western Wyoming, there's a lot of overlap between sage grouse core areas and big game migration areas. So, a lot of the good we did with conservation for sage grouse has indirect and or direct benefits to these big game corridors, as well. It makes your money do twice the work.
But, like all things, our success comes down to personal relationships and great people making it happen. In that watershed, I think there is a real culture of conservation and a value system tied to wildlife and wild places. I mean, it's a tough environment for people to live in, and so those who do, they do it for a reason. They also appreciate the natural resources and that has resulted in just a lot of partners coalescing around this issue and trying to keep that place what it is: a great place for wildlife.
The most special thing about the area, I think, is really the landowner base. They are generally a group of landowners that, yes, have to make a living off of their property, but also know it has value beyond an agronomic-type value. I think it's important to them personally to maintain that. It's important to their legacy and their families.
It always comes down to those local people seeing the issue and trying to do something about it. And then we've been fortunate enough that between state, federal, and local funding, we've been able to help them achieve their vision, to some degree, and keep it going.
Conservation easements are especially beneficial to migratory big game. Photo: Jeremy Roberts, Conservation Media.
I'm not going to say it's some special sauce they’ve got over there, but it's certainly a pretty special place with people who just really care about the land. They've gone above and beyond.
Wildlife biologists, like the NRCS’s Brian Jensen, add value to conservation easements through direct involvement in conservation easement efforts, benefiting wildlife and people.