Meet Maggie Miller

Forward-thinking landowners, like Maggie Miller of Grindstone Cattle Company, are showing how working lands and thriving wildlife populations can coexist. Maggie partnered with the Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust to conserve more than 17,000 acres across multiple easements in Sublette County, Wyoming.

In the early 2000s, I was seeing explosive growth around Western Wyoming, and that became my inspiration to do more to preserve this incredible landscape.

This is a unique part of Wyoming, and the beauty is in its wildness. I see wildlife daily, whether I’m down on the river or up in the forest.

One day three or four years ago, an early fall snowstorm hit, and mule deer started pouring out of the high country. I was checking on cows and couldn’t believe how quickly they were coming down. Usually they meander here and there, but this time they were on a very determined path out of the high country, all in single file. It was incredible to witness, and that’s just one example.

So ensuring that the ranch would continue preserving open space and wildlife corridors was an important element in my decision making process.

I also wanted to know the ranch would always be a ranch. It was started by my husband’s family. When he died 24 years ago from a tragic accident, I continued on. There were some tough years, but I was determined to keep the ranch in agriculture and provide lots of habitat for wildlife. Wyoming Stockgrowers Land Trust, good neighbors, and other collaborators helped me to figure it out.

Photo: Jennifer Hayward

Mule deer, like the ones Maggie Miller saw on her ranch. Photo: Susan Morse.

I think the easement is seen as providing great benefits to the land, agriculture, wildlife, and our community. And, in that way, it’s inspirational for others who are interested in doing something similar. I’m proud of that.

~Maggie Miller

The Sommers/Grindstone conservation easement is now one of the largest projects in Sublette County. It encompasses 19,000 acres spanning from the Bridger Teton National Forest to the Green River and includes an important stopover area within the Sublette mule deer migration corridor. Because of that, I continue to work on installing wildlife friendly fences, to make the migration easier.

Green River Basin Success Story >

Forward thinking landowners, like Maggie Miller, are showing that working lands and thriving wildlife populations can coexist.